Dr Rachel Reed
midwife • author • teacher • researcher
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If you don't know... go listen to @themidwivescauldron 😉Reposting as a reminder. The latest Australian and UK birth stats are not a symptom of a broken system. They reflect a maternity system functioning as it was set up to do.Australia's Mothers and Babies Report. It's that time of year again where Australians get further evidence of the erosion of physiological birth. The intervention rates steadily increase year by year. I've highlighted some of the low lights of the report and included data from the Core National Indicators to add some specific subset information.@drsarawickham this is the best I could get... and it didn't last long 😆 Once again there is a significant lack of cat-appreciation for your awesome work.My answer when people ask what childbirth preparation I recommend.This press release is from 2004 yet remains current today.
Archived by the National Library of Australia and Partners
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Recent Posts
Top Posts
- The Anterior Cervical Lip: how to ruin a perfectly good birth
- Amniotic Fluid Volume: too much, too little, or who knows?
- The Curse of Meconium Stained Liquor
- Shoulder Dystocia: the real story
- Post-Dates Induction of Labour: balancing risks
- Big Babies: the risk of care provider fear
- Vaginal examinations: a symptom of a cervical-centric birth culture
- Gestational Diabetes: beyond the label
- Pre-labour Rupture of Membranes: impatience and risk
- Induction: a step by step guide
Category Archives: midwifery practice
Big Babies: the risk of care provider fear
Big babies are normal in well resourced countries. Over 10% of babies born in the UK and Australia weigh 4kg (8lb 13oz) or more. Healthy well nourished women grow healthy well nourished babies. Genetic factors also influence the size of … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice, pregnancy, uncategorized
Tagged baby, caesarean, fear, induction, shoulder dystocia, ultrasound
25 Comments
Birthing the Placenta: women’s decisions and experiences
We have just published new research findings. You can access the full journal article free here: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth There has been a lot of research exploring the outcomes related to interventions during the birth of the placenta. I … Continue reading
Posted in birth, midwifery practice, publications
Tagged Australia, birth, midwifery, placenta, research
9 Comments
No Woman’s Land: a student midwife’s call (guest post)
I received the following from an Australian midwifery student who has agreed for me to publish the post anonymously. Whilst it can be confronting, it is so important to listen to midwifery students with open ears and hearts. They see … Continue reading
Posted in guest post, midwifery practice, opinion and thoughts
Tagged guest post, midwifery
43 Comments
Perineal ‘Bundles’ and Midwifery
Updated: August 2020 I’ve tried to avoid tackling this issue for months now but it won’t go away. It seems that the ‘bundle’ is one of the main topics of concern amongst midwives and students at the moment. So here … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, law, midwifery practice
Tagged Australia, law, midwifery, midwifery practices, perineum
39 Comments
Understanding and Assessing Labour Progress
Updated: October 2019 I have previously written about how the current framework for understanding and assessing labour progress is inaccurate, not supported by evidence, and fails to incorporate women’s experience of birth. This post is in response to readers asking … Continue reading
Posted in birth, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, contractions, labour pattern, oxytocin, pushing
15 Comments
Research (Bias) and Maternity Care
Updated: July 2019 The childbearing experience has always been unpredictable and potentially dangerous. In response, humans have sought ways to create a sense of control and minimise danger. Practices (actions) aimed at creating a sense of control reflect the culture … Continue reading
Childbirth Trauma: research findings
A big THANK YOU to all the women and men who shared their experiences of traumatic childbirth for Christian Inglis’ Honours study. There was so much data that Christian chose to focus on paternal mental health for his thesis and publication. Later … Continue reading
Pre-labour Rupture of Membranes: impatience and risk
Updated: July 2019 Amniotic sac and fluid play an important role in the labour process and usually remain intact until the end of labour. However, around 10% of women will experience their waters breaking before labour begins. The standard approach to this situation is to induce labour … Continue reading
Posted in baby, birth, intervention, midwifery practice, pregnancy
Tagged amniotic fluid, amniotic sac, augmentation, baby, birth, contractions, induction, nuchal cord, oxytocin, prelabour rupture of membrances, risk, syntocinon, waterbirth
229 Comments
Responsibilities in the mother-midwife relationship
Updated: April 2020 When I facilitate workshops with midwives and students, there is always a lot of discussion and debate about professional responsibilities in the mother-midwife relationship. These debates often get heated, and the complexities of legal, professional, and ethical issues … Continue reading
Posted in law, midwifery practice, opinion and thoughts, uncategorized
Tagged information giving, law, risk
29 Comments
