Dr Rachel Reed
midwife • academic • writer • presenter
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Such a lovely surprise after a week of nursing a poorly elderly cat and watching bush fires rage across Australia. #IMexpo #midwifethinking #rachelreedI’ve just returned from a Gunnas Writing Retreat with @catherinedeveny We danced, we laughed, we swam, we ate fine food and we wrote and wrote. The best photo is the last one 😉#gunnaswritersretreatUPDATED POST: https://midwifethinking.com/2013/11/13/early-labour-and-mixed-messages/ #midwifethinking #rachelreed #midwife #midwifery #doula #birthdoula #studentmidwife #childbirtheducation #childbirthThe home office... although just as much work gets done on the sofa and in bed 😆 #writing #midwifethinkingWriting at home means I get to hang out with this happy little fellow - Flóki 😊 #writing #happycatUPDATED POST: https://midwifethinking.com/2017/02/03/understanding-and-assessing-labour-progress/ It is fairly easy to stop using 'stages of labour' language and something small we can all do to help shift birth back to women. #midwifethinking #rachelreed #midwife #midwifery #doula #birthdoula #studentmidwife #childbirtheducation #childbirth
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Recent Posts
Top Posts
- Amniotic Fluid Volume: too much, too little, or who knows?
- The Anterior Cervical Lip: how to ruin a perfectly good birth
- Induction: a step by step guide
- In Celebration of the OP Baby
- The Curse of Meconium Stained Liquor
- Shoulder Dystocia: the real story
- In Defence of the Amniotic Sac
- Post-Dates Induction of Labour: balancing risks
- The Placenta: essential resuscitation equipment
- Birth from the Baby's Perspective
Tag Archives: birth
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
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
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
225 Comments
The Anterior Cervical Lip: how to ruin a perfectly good birth
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 little while the midwife … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, cervical lip, cervix, occipito-posterior, OP, pushing
433 Comments
VBAC: making a mountain out of a molehill
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 are growing. I am … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, caesarean, uterine rupture, vbac
343 Comments
In Celebration of the OP Baby
Updated: February 2018 How many times have you heard “I had to have an epidural/c-section/ventouse/etc. because my baby was facing the wrong way”? An occipito posterior (OP) position occurs when the baby enters the pelvis facing forward with his back … Continue reading
Posted in baby, birth, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, blame, cervix, intervention, labour pattern, occipito-posterior, OP, optimal fetal positioning, positions
203 Comments
