Dr Rachel Reed
midwife • author • educator
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My next newsletter will drop into inboxes on the 7th of June. Find out what's going on and my thoughts on the latest 'measuring babies' study.Thanks for the feedback Tiara ❤️Blog post: https://midwifethinking.com/2015/01/14/the-curse-of-meconium-stained-liquor/Observing this cycle over and over reinforces the underlying belief that women’s bodies and the process of birth is dangerous and medical intervention can save them.Similar sized hens = different sized eggs. Nature is full of normal variations. Just like childbirth.Rather than change (or eliminate) prescribed timeframes, women are subjected to unnecessary medical interventions. Blog post: https://midwifethinking.com/2015/05/02/vaginal-examinations-a-symptom-of-a-cervix-centric-birth-culture/Top Posts
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Archived by the National Library of Australia and Partners
Category Archives: birth
In Celebration of the OP Baby
Updated: February 2022 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 their back … Continue reading
Posted in baby, birth, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, blame, cervix, intervention, labour pattern, occipito-posterior, OP, optimal fetal positioning, positions
219 Comments
The Placenta: essential resuscitation equipment
Updated: August 2022 Premature cord clamping/cutting Premature cord clamping (clamping before placental transfusion is complete) has been the norm since ‘active management’ of the placenta became routine. In recent years, research has highlighted the harms caused by cutting the umbilical … Continue reading
Posted in baby, birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged ARM, baby, birth, heart rate, intervention, nuchal cord, placenta, resuscitation, syntocinon, umbilical cord
117 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
Updated: May 2022 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. … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged amniotic fluid, amniotic sac, ARM, birth, caul, contractions, heart rate, induction, intervention, syntocinon, waterbirth
226 Comments
Cord Blood Collection: confessions of a vampire-midwife
Updated: February 2022 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
196 Comments
Nuchal Cords: the perfect scapegoat
Updated: April 2022 To get this blog going I decided to write about a slight obsession of mine: The fear of, and routine ‘management’ of nuchal cords at birth (umbilical cord around the neck). I have written and presented about … Continue reading
Posted in baby, birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged baby, birth, nuchal cord, umbilical cord
337 Comments