Dr Rachel Reed
midwife • academic • writer • presenter
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No one except the mother can assess the strength or effectiveness of a contraction. Physiology can be disrupted by unnecessary 'palpating' of contractions. Stop belly-bothering women during labour.I have been getting some very positive and heartwarming feedback about my book on the socials, via email and face-to-face. Thank you! I would really, really appreciate some reviews on Goodreads and/or online bookstores because this helps others find the book and know whether it is worth a read.CHAPTER 5 PREPARATION: However, it can be helpful to have a 'map' of the institution you plan to birth in ie. the cultural norms, hierarchies and your rights within that.@little_fox5107 (daughter) reminded me of the Menarche Blanket I made her to welcome her into womanhood a few years back. I think I spent more time unravelling this (and swearing) than I did crocheting it. Luckily I only have one daughter and luckily she’s worth it 🤣 #menarche #crochet #ritesofpassage #grumpycatFor millennia women have been socialised to accommodate and 'be nice' rather than mobilise against our oppression. We have been turned against each other to redirect our energy away from oppressors. It's time to nurture female solidarity.If you are interested in ordering 20+ books at a discount for your organisation or friends - DM me for details.
Archived by the National Library of Australia and Partners
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Recent Posts
Top Posts
- The Anterior Cervical Lip: how to ruin a perfectly good birth
- Amniotic Fluid Volume: too much, too little, or who knows?
- The Curse of Meconium Stained Liquor
- Induction: a step by step guide
- Big Babies: the risk of care provider fear
- Shoulder Dystocia: the real story
- Gestational Diabetes: beyond the label
- VBAC: making a mountain out of a molehill
- Pre-labour Rupture of Membranes: impatience and risk
- Post-Dates Induction of Labour: balancing risks
Category Archives: birth
In Celebration of the OP Baby
Updated: February 2018 How many times have you heard “I had to have an epidural/c-section/ventouse/etc. because my baby was facing the wrong way”? An occipito posterior (OP) position occurs when the baby enters the pelvis facing forward with his back … Continue reading
Posted in baby, birth, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, blame, cervix, intervention, labour pattern, occipito-posterior, OP, optimal fetal positioning, positions
207 Comments
The Placenta: essential resuscitation equipment
Updated: September 2019 The common practice of premature cord clamping has been challenged in recent years due to a greater understanding of how this intervention disrupts the physiology of placental transfusion (Mercer & Skovgaard 2002). Premature cord clamping results in … Continue reading
Posted in baby, birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged ARM, baby, birth, heart rate, intervention, nuchal cord, placenta, resuscitation, syntocinon, umbilical cord
115 Comments
The Human Microbiome: considerations for pregnancy, birth and early mothering
This post was co-authored by Jessie Johnson-Cash and based on her presentation at the USC Midwifery Education Day. The human microbiome is rather fashionable in the world of science at the moment. The NIH Human Microbiome Project has been set up to … Continue reading
Posted in baby, birth, midwifery practice, pregnancy
Tagged birth, breastfeeding, Chris Kresser, gut bacteria, gut microbiota, human microbiome, microbiome, nutrition, pregnancy, probiotic, stress
119 Comments
Perineal Protectors?
Updated: September 2019 Most women will sustain some damage to their perineum during birth (AIHW 2018). Around 50% will have a tear or graze in the skin and/or vaginal wall (1st / 2nd degree). Occasionally (1% of non-instrumental vaginal births) … Continue reading
Posted in birth, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, episiotomy, perineum, positions, pushing, water
109 Comments
In Defence of the Amniotic Sac
Artificial rupture of membranes (ARM) aka ‘breaking the waters’ is a common intervention during birth. However, an ARM should not be carried out without a good understanding of how the amniotic sac and fluid function in labour. Women need to … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged amniotic fluid, amniotic sac, ARM, birth, caul, contractions, heart rate, induction, intervention, syntocinon, waterbirth
224 Comments
Cord Blood Collection: confessions of a vampire-midwife
Updated: September 2019 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, law
Tagged baby, cord blood, ethics, information giving, law, placenta, stem cells
178 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
124 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
Updated: August 2019 There is a lot of unwarranted fear about ‘big babies’ getting stuck. The media reflects the usual story – that women are creating a problem that doctors have to fix. The incidence of shoulder dystocia does increase … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, complication, intervention, positions, risk, shoulder dystocia
192 Comments
Nuchal Cords: the perfect scapegoat
Updated: January 2020 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 … Continue reading
Posted in baby, birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged baby, birth, nuchal cord, umbilical cord
335 Comments
