Dr Rachel Reed
midwife, lecturer and birth nerd-
Archived by the National Library of Australia and Partners
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Recent Posts
- Responsibilities in the mother-midwife relationship
- Supporting women’s instinctive pushing behaviour during birth
- Vaginal examinations: a symptom of a cervical-centric birth culture
- The Human Microbiome: considerations for pregnancy, birth and early mothering
- The Future of Midwifery and Homebirth in Australia?
Categories
Tags
ACM AHPRA amniotic fluid amniotic sac ARM asynclitism augmentation auscultation Australia baby behaviour birth blame blood tests caesarean caul cervical lip cervix choice complication consent contractions cord blood cultural norms documentation doppler episiotomy ethics fear guest post heart rate homebirth hypnobirthing induction information giving intervention judgement labour pattern law meconium medical paradigm microbiome midwifery midwifery practices negligence nuchal cord occipito-posterior OP optimal fetal positioning oxytocin perineum phd pinnard pitocin placenta positions pregnancy prelabour rupture of membrances pushing research resuscitation risk screening shoulder dystocia stages of labour stem cells syntocinon testing trauma ultrasound umbilical cord uterine rupture vbac water waterbirthTop Posts
- Nuchal Cords: the perfect scapegoat
- Amniotic Fluid Volume: too much, too little, or who knows?
- Induction: a step by step guide
- Induction of Labour: balancing risks
- Pre-labour Rupture of Membranes: impatience and risk
- In Defence of the Amniotic Sac
- The Curse of Meconium Stained Liquor
- The Anterior Cervical Lip: how to ruin a perfectly good birth
- In Celebration of the OP Baby
- The Effective Labour Contraction
Author Archives: midwifethinking
Guest post: when birth is trauma
This is a guest post by Elizabeth Ford 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 of … Continue reading
Posted in birth, guest post, intervention, law
Tagged birth, guest post, information giving, intervention, trauma
66 Comments
Judging Birth
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
VBAC: making a mountain out of a molehill
Edited and updated: June 2016 VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean) is big. A google search for ‘vbac’ results in ‘about 795,000’ results. Reviews, guidelines, policies and statements are being produced by every organisation with an interest in birth. Support groups and networks … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, caesarean, uterine rupture, vbac
327 Comments
Cord Blood Collection: confessions of a vampire-midwife
Edited/Updated: September 2015 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 … Continue reading
Posted in baby, birth, intervention
Tagged baby, cord blood, information giving, law, placenta, stem cells
171 Comments
The Anterior Cervical Lip: how to ruin a perfectly good birth
Edited and update: June 2016 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 … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, cervical lip, cervix, occipito-posterior, OP, pushing
406 Comments
Stages of Labour and Collusion
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 birth, documentation, labour pattern, stages of labour
43 Comments
Shoulder Dystocia: the real story
Edited and updated: May 2015 The media have been reporting on shoulder dystocia. Apparently doctors are having to attend special classes to learn how to break babies’ bones because mothers are fat, and make their babies too big. At least that’s … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, complication, intervention, positions, risk, shoulder dystocia
174 Comments
