Category Archives: midwifery practice

Big Babies: the risk of care provider fear

Updated: June 2022 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 … Continue reading

Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice, pregnancy, uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 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 , , , , | 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 , | 46 Comments

Perineal ‘Bundles’ and Midwifery

Updated: April 2023 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 , , , , | 41 Comments

Understanding and Assessing Labour Progress

Updated: April 2023 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 , , , , | 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

Posted in midwifery practice | Tagged , | 13 Comments

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

Posted in birth, midwifery practice, publications | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , | 230 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 , , | 29 Comments

Information Giving and the Law

I was writing a blog post on induction for prolonged pregnancy but got side tracked reflecting on a recent study day I attended about law. So, I will get this out of my system before finishing the induction post. It … Continue reading

Posted in law, midwifery practice | Tagged , , , , , | 49 Comments