Category Archives: birth

The Assessment of Progress

Posted on September 14, 2011 by

This article was written for AIMS Journal (2011, vol. 23, no. 2) and expands on my previous post about my New Years resolution – which by the way I have kept. AIMS have kindly allowed me to reproduce the article … Continue reading →

Posted in birth, midwifery practice | Tagged , , , , , , , | 40 Comments

Induction: a step by step guide

Posted on July 17, 2011 by

This post has been inspired by conversations I’ve had with women about their experiences of induction. Induction of labour is increasingly common, yet women often seem to be very mis-informed about what it involves, or what was done to them … Continue reading →

Posted in birth, intervention | Tagged , , , , , , | 87 Comments

Guest post: when birth is trauma

Posted on May 13, 2011 by

This is a guest post by Elizabeth Ford (website) who is based in the UK so is writing from a UK perspective. Elizabeth explored birth trauma for her PhD and generously agreed to write a post for MidwifeThinking. There are lots … Continue reading →

Posted in birth, guest post, intervention, law | Tagged , , , , | 45 Comments

Judging Birth

Posted on April 9, 2011 by

This post is a little different to my usual posts (I apologise to those wanting some physiology and links to research). Instead, I have written about something that keeps cropping up in my conversations with mothers and birth workers. I … Continue reading →

Posted in birth, opinion and thoughts | Tagged , , , | 98 Comments

VBAC: making a mountain out of a molehill

Posted on February 23, 2011 by

VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean) is big. A google search for ‘vbac’ results in ‘about 1,390,000′ results. Reviews, guidelines, policies and statements are being produced by every organisation with an interest in birth. Support groups and networks are growing. I am … Continue reading →

Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice | Tagged , , , | 176 Comments

Cord Blood Collection: confessions of a vampire-midwife

Posted on February 10, 2011 by

When I was a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed student midwife I was awarded with a certificate and a box of chocolates. My achievement was collecting the most cord blood in the hospital. At that time the Local Health District was trialling a … Continue reading →

Posted in baby, birth, intervention | Tagged , , , , , | 94 Comments

The Anterior Cervical Lip: how to ruin a perfectly good birth

Posted on January 22, 2011 by

Here is a scenario I keep hearing over and over: A woman is labouring away and all is good. She begins to push with contractions, and her midwife encourages her to follow her body. After a little while the midwife … Continue reading →

Posted in birth, midwifery practice | Tagged , , , , , | 201 Comments

Stages of Labour and Collusion

Posted on December 22, 2010 by

My New Years resolution is to stop colluding in the myth of stages of labour. Will you join me? This may be a little difficult as a midwife and an educator but I’ll give it a go – will you? … Continue reading →

Posted in birth, midwifery practice | Tagged , , , | 40 Comments

Shoulder Dystocia: the real story

Posted on December 3, 2010 by

Recently the media have been demonstrating ignorance and lazy journalism with a scattering of items about shoulder dystocia. Apparently doctors are having to attend special classes to learn how to break babies bones because mothers are fat and make their … Continue reading →

Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice | Tagged , , , , , | 64 Comments

The Curse of Meconium Stained Liquor

Posted on October 9, 2010 by

Dear unborn baby, Please consider holding your poo in until after you are born. The big people on the outside get very stressed about your poo and will want to change the way you are birthed if they find any … Continue reading →

Posted in baby, birth, intervention, midwifery practice | Tagged , , , , | 61 Comments