Category Archives: intervention

The Placenta: essential resuscitation equipment

Posted on April 13, 2016 by

Updated: January 2018 Knowledge about the short-term and long-term benefits of ‘delayed cord clamping’ is finally making it into practice. Midwives and in some cases obstetricians are realising the importance of allowing the placenta to finish circulating blood before intervening. … Continue reading →

Posted in baby, birth, intervention, midwifery practice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 109 Comments

In Defence of the Amniotic Sac

Posted on September 16, 2015 by

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 , , , , , , , , , , | 221 Comments

Cord Blood Collection: confessions of a vampire-midwife

Posted on September 16, 2015 by

Updated: January 2018 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 | Tagged , , , , , | 177 Comments

Shoulder Dystocia: the real story

Posted on May 13, 2015 by

Updated: April 2019 The media have been reporting on shoulder dystocia. Apparently doctors are having to attend special classes to learn how to break babies’ bones because mothers make their babies too big. At least that’s the story – women … Continue reading →

Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice | Tagged , , , , , | 191 Comments

Nuchal Cords: the perfect scapegoat

Posted on May 13, 2015 by

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 , , , | 332 Comments

Induction: a step by step guide

Posted on March 18, 2015 by

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 →

Posted in birth, intervention | Tagged , , , , , , | 165 Comments

An actively managed placental birth might be the best option for most women

Posted on March 11, 2015 by

The birth of the placenta is my least favourite part of the birth process. I know I have ‘issues’ and I’m working on them. Hopefully writing this blog post will be therapeutic as well as informative. I am going to … Continue reading →

Posted in birth, intervention | Tagged , , , , | 286 Comments