Category Archives: intervention

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

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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 , , , , , | 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 , , , | 337 Comments

Induction: a step by step guide

Updated: August 2019 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 … Continue reading

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An actively managed placenta may be the best option for most women

Updated: February 2022 The birth of the placenta is my least favourite part of the birth process. Hopefully writing this blog post will be therapeutic as well as informative. I am going to refrain from referring to the birth of … Continue reading

Posted in birth, intervention | Tagged , , , , | 299 Comments

The Curse of Meconium Stained Liquor

Updated: January 2023 When meconium is noticed in amniotic fluid during labour it often initiates a cascade of intervention. A CTG machine will often be strapped onto the woman reducing her ability to move and increasing her chance of having … Continue reading

Posted in baby, birth, intervention, midwifery practice | Tagged , , , , | 205 Comments

Pushing: leave it to the experts

Updated: July 2019 A birthing woman is the expert regarding when and how she pushes. Providing directions implies she needs our guidance and we are the experts. Of course each woman and birth situation is different and in some circumstances … Continue reading

Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice | Tagged , , , , | 118 Comments

Early Labour and Mixed Messages

Updated: October 2019 This post is about early labour and the mixed messages women are given about this important part of the birthing process. Defining the indefinable The concept of ‘early’ or ‘latent’ labour emerged as a result of the birth … Continue reading

Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice, uncategorized | Tagged , , | 133 Comments

Amniotic Fluid Volume: too much, too little, or who knows?

Updated: May 2023 This post is in response to readers asking me to cover the topic of induction for low amniotic fluid volume (AFV). Most of the content is available in textbooks and I have provided references/links for research where … Continue reading

Posted in birth, intervention, pregnancy | Tagged , , , , , , , | 157 Comments

Birth from the Baby’s Perspective

Picture this… A mother sits holding her newborn son on a postnatal ward during visiting time. One of her visitors reaches forward, grasps the baby by the head and pulls him out of his mothers arms leaving him dangling by … Continue reading

Posted in baby, birth, intervention, midwifery practice | Tagged , , , | 99 Comments