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In this month's newsletter, I share my favourite research study/article of 2023 and explain why it's a winner (arriving in inboxes on the 7th of December). Subscribe to my Mailing List for a monthly newsletter featuring news (of course), evidence-based information, musings, rants and discounts on offers. The link is in my bio or visit my website www.rachelreed.website*Please read the blog post before responding with an uppity comment* Full blog post: https://midwifethinking.com/2016/06/08/in-celebration-of-the-op-baby/When birth moved from the community into hospitals it changed the mother-midwife relationship. Midwives now struggle to provide woman-centred care when they are accountable to institution-centred employers.More lessons on birth from hens 🤣"Women unravel and examine their experience with those who witnessed it, their partners, family and care providers. An essential but undervalued role of the care provider is to listen to the woman’s birth story and support this process. Listening to the birth story is also an opportunity for the care provider to ask the woman questions that reinforce her capability and power. This includes asking her what she learned about herself, where and how she experienced her power and agency, and what messages and themes lie within the story."I've just listened to this episode. Sara Wickham was back-up midwife (host) for the interview so I had the listener experience rather than the host experience. I have followed Mavis' work since I was a student and she really is one of our precious Elders of the birth world. We need to listen to the wisdom of our Elders. I loved this podcast and Mavis' perspective and wisdom. So many gold nuggets! I can't wait to read the book.Top Posts
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Recent Posts
Archived by the National Library of Australia and Partners
Category Archives: birth
In Celebration of the OP Baby
Updated: October 2023 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
221 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: August 2023 Most women will sustain some damage to their perineum during birth (AIHW 2023). Around half will have a tear or graze in the skin and/or vaginal wall (1st / 2nd degree). A quarter will be cut with … Continue reading
Posted in birth, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, episiotomy, perineum, positions, pushing, water
110 Comments
In Defence of the Amniotic Sac
Updated: September 2023 Artificial rupture of membranes (ARM) aka ‘breaking the waters’ is a common birth intervention. However, an ARM should not be carried out without a good understanding of how the amniotic sac and fluid function in labour. Women … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged amniotic fluid, amniotic sac, ARM, birth, caul, contractions, heart rate, induction, intervention, syntocinon, waterbirth
227 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 2023 There is a lot of unwarranted fear about ‘big babies’ getting stuck. The media reflects the usual story – that women are creating a problem. This post was initially written in response to a news article entitled … 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