Dr Rachel Reed
midwife • academic • writer • presenter
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Writing at home means I get to hang out with this happy little fellow - Flóki 😊 #writing #happycatUPDATED POST: https://midwifethinking.com/2017/02/03/understanding-and-assessing-labour-progress/ It is fairly easy to stop using 'stages of labour' language and something small we can all do to help shift birth back to women. #midwifethinking #rachelreed #midwife #midwifery #doula #birthdoula #studentmidwife #childbirtheducation #childbirthGoodbye until next year little uni office 😊 Long Service Leave starts 5pm today 🍾UPDATED POST: https://midwifethinking.com/2016/04/13/the-placenta-essential-resuscitation-equipment/ #midwifethinking #rachelreed #midwife #midwifery #doula #birthdoula #studentmidwife #childbirtheducator #childbirtheducation #childbirth #placenta #resuscitationEddie spying on me while I work 😆 #peacock #writingwithabirdThis retreat offers a unique opportunity to deeply explore the heart and soul of being 'with woman’ at birth and beyond. I am so grateful to be able to midwife this event and witness the transformation of participants as they journey through the processes. Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/with-woman-retreat-reclaiming-birth-as-a-rite-of-passage-2019-tickets-58347053608 Laura Mathias’ reviewed the 2018 retreat in Australian Midwifery News: “This workshop was profound in so many ways. It gave me tools through which to explore my own womanhood, my stories, judgements and patterns. It reassured me that birth is sacred and that there are so many strong women working to hold this vision and intention for women to be able to birth how, when and where they choose without judgement or restriction. I felt profoundly held in a circle of women, in safety and love, which is how I want women to feel when they are in my care.” (Full review available here: https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=251383120060963;res=IELHEA)
Archived by the National Library of Australia and Partners
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Recent Posts
Top Posts
- Amniotic Fluid Volume: too much, too little, or who knows?
- The Anterior Cervical Lip: how to ruin a perfectly good birth
- Induction: a step by step guide
- The Curse of Meconium Stained Liquor
- Post-Dates Induction of Labour: balancing risks
- Nuchal Cords: the perfect scapegoat
- Understanding and Assessing Labour Progress
- In Celebration of the OP Baby
- VBAC: making a mountain out of a molehill
- Pre-labour Rupture of Membranes: impatience and risk
Category Archives: birth
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
221 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
177 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
123 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
191 Comments
Nuchal Cords: the perfect scapegoat
Updated: February 2018 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
332 Comments
Vaginal examinations: a symptom of a cervical-centric birth culture
Updated: January 2019 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 … Continue reading
