Dr Rachel Reed
midwife • author • educator
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Updated blog post - 'Gestational diabetes: beyond the label'... I keep adding research questioning the current 'management' of gestationals diabetes. Yet the management continues.I've spoken at lots of events, but this was my first dinner presentation – the Australian Endorsed Midwives Conference. I hope I didn't put the attendees off their food 😆Fear is normal. I've also written about this in my blog post Feel the Fear and Birth Anyway.Ultrasound is inaccurate when estimating the size of a baby. This is probably why clinical guidelines do not recommend inducing labour based on the estimated size of a baby.Thanks Pip @birthsavvy_bubsavvy 🙏❤I found some cicadas at the Australian Endorsed Midwives Conference @birthtimeworld #cicadas #cicada #cicadatattoo #tattooTop Posts
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Recent Posts
Tag Archives: baby
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 baby, caesarean, fear, induction, shoulder dystocia, ultrasound
25 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 amniotic fluid, amniotic sac, augmentation, baby, birth, contractions, induction, nuchal cord, oxytocin, prelabour rupture of membrances, risk, syntocinon, waterbirth
230 Comments
The Placenta: essential resuscitation equipment
Updated: August 2022 Premature cord clamping/cutting Premature cord clamping (clamping before placental transfusion is complete) has been the norm since ‘active management’ of the placenta became routine. In recent years, research has highlighted the harms caused by cutting the umbilical … Continue reading
Posted in baby, birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged ARM, baby, birth, heart rate, intervention, nuchal cord, placenta, resuscitation, syntocinon, umbilical cord
115 Comments
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
Posted in baby, birth, intervention, law
Tagged baby, cord blood, ethics, information giving, law, placenta, stem cells
178 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 baby, birth, nuchal cord, umbilical cord
335 Comments
The Curse of Meconium Stained Liquor
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, labour in water, and increasing her chance of having … Continue reading
Posted in baby, birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged amniotic fluid, baby, heart rate, intervention, meconium
203 Comments
Listening to Baby During Labour
Updated: January 2018 Intermittent auscultation (IA) is considered to be an important aspect of midwifery care for women during a ‘low risk’ labour. The expectation of surveillance of the baby is reflected in guidelines and hospital policies. The recommended frequency of … Continue reading
Posted in baby, birth, midwifery practice
Tagged auscultation, baby, birth, doppler, heart rate, pinnard, pushing
25 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 baby, birth, intervention, pushing
99 Comments