Project no.14: Biomechanics of childbirth
Sarah Burgarella, Biomedical Engineer, was asked by Dr. Elena Taddei (trainer for childbearing women in Florence, Italy, and creator of the "Taddei Smart Birth" method for childbirth) to perform a study on the Biomechanics of childbirth for the European Prize "Horizon prize for the birth day".
The European Commission organized the “Horizon Prize – Birth Day” contest for innovative solutions making it possible to reduce, in particular, newborn and maternal mortality and morbidity around the world.
Taddei Smart Birth (TSB) has been developed from the consideration that birth is an exceptional physical performance that can be scientifically approached, mainly basing it on a biomechanical study of the female body movements during childbirth, with particular attention to the maternal pelvis. It develops in three areas:
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the TSB theory: the biomechanical study on childbirth;
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the TSB method: the technical setting of delivery;
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the TSB program: the athletic training for the delivery.
The main goal is to optimize the technical gestures of delivery in order to improve its outcome, specifically, labor duration, pain reduction, Caesarean sections, perineal lacerations, maternal and newborn pathological complications. TSB steers away from prescribed conventional views and theories which, in order to improve childbirth, focus mainly on the importance of the force of gravity and useless leg and hip positions and movements. TSB is innovative since it has fully studied all the richness and potentiality of pelvic mobility, adopting for the time five new pelvic movements which are functional to optimize child-delivery. The statistical analysis illustrates a high significant improvement (p<0,0001) of maternal and newborn health outcome and mortality rate, thus, confirming the advantages and the importance of proper biomechanical TSB training. Other few important statistical results to be considered are: 3h 45’ average labour duration; 50% (VAS 4,9) average pain reduction; 10% (from 8,42 to 9,26) improved Apgar index; and 44% perineal laceration reduction.
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Links:
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Go to the Taddei Smart Birth web page
Go to the Horizon prize web page
Read the table of contents of the study on the Biomechanics of childbirth
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