Dr Rachel Reed
midwife, lecturer and birth nerd-
Archived by the National Library of Australia and Partners
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Recent Posts
- Responsibilities in the mother-midwife relationship
- Supporting women’s instinctive pushing behaviour during birth
- Vaginal examinations: a symptom of a cervical-centric birth culture
- The Human Microbiome: considerations for pregnancy, birth and early mothering
- The Future of Midwifery and Homebirth in Australia?
Categories
Tags
ACM AHPRA amniotic fluid amniotic sac ARM asynclitism augmentation auscultation Australia baby behaviour birth blame blood tests caesarean caul cervical lip cervix choice complication consent contractions cord blood cultural norms documentation doppler episiotomy ethics fear guest post heart rate homebirth hypnobirthing induction information giving intervention judgement labour pattern law meconium medical paradigm microbiome midwifery midwifery practices negligence nuchal cord occipito-posterior OP optimal fetal positioning oxytocin perineum phd pinnard pitocin placenta positions pregnancy prelabour rupture of membrances pushing research resuscitation risk screening shoulder dystocia stages of labour stem cells syntocinon testing trauma ultrasound umbilical cord uterine rupture vbac water waterbirthTop Posts
- Nuchal Cords: the perfect scapegoat
- In Defence of the Amniotic Sac
- Amniotic Fluid Volume: too much, too little, or who knows?
- Induction: a step by step guide
- Pre-labour Rupture of Membranes: impatience and risk
- Induction of Labour: balancing risks
- The Curse of Meconium Stained Liquor
- The Anterior Cervical Lip: how to ruin a perfectly good birth
- The Effective Labour Contraction
- In Celebration of the OP Baby
Category Archives: midwifery practice
Asynclitism: a well aligned baby or a tilted head?
Edited/Updated: September 2015 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 … Continue reading
Posted in birth, midwifery practice
Tagged asynclitism, birth, intervention, labour pattern
107 Comments
The Assessment of Progress
This article was written for AIMS Journal (2011, vol. 23, no. 2) and expands on my previous post about my New Years resolution – which by the way I have kept. AIMS have kindly allowed me to reproduce the article … Continue reading
Posted in birth, midwifery practice
Tagged ARM, augmentation, birth, contractions, labour pattern, oxytocin, pushing, syntocinon
94 Comments
ACM Homebirth Position Statement & Guidance: My response
The Australian College of Midwives have issued an Interim Homebirth Position Statement and Interim Guidance for Privately Practising Midwives along with a request for comments. Here is the response I have sent… As a privately practising midwife who attends homebirths … Continue reading
Posted in law, midwifery practice, opinion and thoughts
Tagged ACM, ethics, homebirth, midwifery
37 Comments
VBAC: making a mountain out of a molehill
Edited and updated: June 2016 VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean) is big. A google search for ‘vbac’ results in ‘about 795,000’ results. Reviews, guidelines, policies and statements are being produced by every organisation with an interest in birth. Support groups and networks … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, caesarean, uterine rupture, vbac
327 Comments
The Anterior Cervical Lip: how to ruin a perfectly good birth
Edited and update: June 2016 Here is a scenario I keep hearing over and over: A woman is labouring away and all is good. She begins to push with contractions, and her midwife encourages her to follow her body. After a … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, cervical lip, cervix, occipito-posterior, OP, pushing
406 Comments
Stages of Labour and Collusion
My New Years resolution is to stop colluding in the myth of stages of labour. Will you join me? This may be a little difficult as a midwife and an educator but I’ll give it a go – will you? … Continue reading
Posted in birth, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, documentation, labour pattern, stages of labour
43 Comments
Shoulder Dystocia: the real story
Edited and updated: May 2015 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 are fat, and make their babies too big. At least that’s … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, complication, intervention, positions, risk, shoulder dystocia
174 Comments
