Dr Rachel Reed
midwife, senior lecturer, writer, presenter and birth nerd-
Archived by the National Library of Australia and Partners
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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
- Amniotic Fluid Volume: too much, too little, or who knows?
- Induction of Labour: balancing risks
- The Anterior Cervical Lip: how to ruin a perfectly good birth
- The Curse of Meconium Stained Liquor
- The Effective Labour Contraction
- Pre-labour Rupture of Membranes: impatience and risk
- Nuchal Cords: the perfect scapegoat
- Shoulder Dystocia: the real story
- Induction: a step by step guide
- Feel the Fear and Birth Anyway
Author Archives: midwifethinking
Cord Blood Collection: confessions of a vampire-midwife
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 baby, cord blood, information giving, law, placenta, stem cells
175 Comments
Asynclitism: a well aligned baby or a tilted head?
Asynclitism is when the baby’s head is moving through the pelvis ‘tipped’ to one side. This is usually diagnosed by a vaginal examination in labour. However, asynclitism is rarely caused by the baby having his/her head tilted to one side … Continue reading
Posted in birth, midwifery practice
Tagged asynclitism, birth, intervention, labour pattern
109 Comments
Supporting women’s instinctive pushing behaviour during birth
This article was published in The Practising Midwife journal in June 2015 along with ‘practice challenge’ questions for midwives (not included here). Introduction Clinical guidelines recommend that women should be guided by their own pushing urges during birth (National Institute for Health … Continue reading
Shoulder Dystocia: the real story
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 the story – women … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, complication, intervention, positions, risk, shoulder dystocia
182 Comments
Nuchal Cords: the perfect scapegoat
To get this blog going I decided to write about a slight obsession of mine: The fear of, and routine midwifery management of nuchal cords at birth (umbilical cord around the neck). I have written and presented about this topic … Continue reading
Posted in baby, birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged baby, birth, nuchal cord, umbilical cord
321 Comments
Vaginal examinations: a symptom of a cervical-centric birth culture
This post is about routine vaginal examinations (VE) during physiological birth ie. an uncomplicated birth without any medical intervention. The VE is a useful assessment in some circumstances, but it’s routine use in an attempt to determine labour progress is … Continue reading
Induction: a step by step guide
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 amniotic fluid, birth, induction, information giving, intervention, oxytocin, syntocinon
165 Comments
