Category Archives: midwifery practice

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

ACM Homebirth Position Statement & Guidance: My response

Posted on August 10, 2011 by

The Australian College of Midwives have issued an Interim Homebirth Position Statement and Interim Guidance for Privately Practising Midwives along with a request for comments. Here is the response I have sent… As a privately practising midwife who attends homebirths … Continue reading →

Posted in law, midwifery practice, opinion and thoughts | Tagged , , , | 26 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

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

Testing, Testing…

Posted on November 14, 2010 by

I am visiting the BaBs Sunshine Coast group tomorrow to talk about the tests offered during pregnancy and afterwards to newborns. You can download my antenatal tests summary information if you are interested. The summary will provide you with an overview … Continue reading →

Posted in intervention, midwifery practice, pregnancy | Tagged , , , , , , , | 29 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

Information Giving and the Law

Posted on September 15, 2010 by

I was writing a blog post on induction for prolonged pregnancy but got side tracked reflecting on a recent study day I attended about law. So, I will get this out of my system before finishing the induction post. It … Continue reading →

Posted in law, midwifery practice | Tagged , , , , , | 32 Comments

Pre-labour Rupture of Membranes: impatience and risk

Posted on September 10, 2010 by

Most women experience their waters breaking towards the end of labour. However, for a significant minority their waters break before labour begins. The standard approach to this situation is to augment labour by using prostaglandins and/or syntocinon aka pitocin to … Continue reading →

Posted in baby, birth, intervention, midwifery practice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 56 Comments