Dr Rachel Reed
midwife • author • educator • researcher
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Finally got to WA! Such an honour to spend a day with this amazing group of women. Big thanks to Vicki @doulatrainingacademy for organising the workshop and gathering us all together to learn from each other.Shiny new gate for my driveway. Quite fitting that it was installed while I was working on the topic of 'boundaries' for my up-coming online course. Boundaries are so important. Especially for women working in a female dominated space. I am constantly working on my own boundaries... definitely a work in progress! 😊Thanks Hazra :)And whether a baby over 4kg is a problem anyway is a whole other issue (and blog post).My fail at filming a big male wallaby (he is good at hiding). We usually only see the mamas and joeys on the property.Many modern maternity practices work against physiology. Activating the neocortex with questions or directions can interfere with the separating and settling needed to move into 'established' labour (liminality).
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Recent Posts
Top Posts
- The Anterior Cervical Lip: how to ruin a perfectly good birth
- Post-Dates Induction of Labour: balancing risks
- The Curse of Meconium Stained Liquor
- Gestational Diabetes: beyond the label
- In Celebration of the OP Baby
- Shoulder Dystocia: the real story
- Amniotic Fluid Volume: too much, too little, or who knows?
- Stages of Labour and Collusion
- VBAC: making a mountain out of a molehill
- Big Babies: the risk of care provider fear
Tag Archives: contractions
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
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
In Defence of the Amniotic Sac
Updated: May 2022 Artificial rupture of membranes (ARM) aka ‘breaking the waters’ is a common intervention during birth. However, an ARM should not be carried out without a good understanding of how the amniotic sac and fluid function in labour. … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged amniotic fluid, amniotic sac, ARM, birth, caul, contractions, heart rate, induction, intervention, syntocinon, waterbirth
224 Comments
Feel the Fear and Birth Anyway
This is just a little post to ease me back into the blogging world (thesis finally submitted). As usual, the content is in response to a reoccurring issue and discussions with mothers and midwives. And I welcome your experiences and comments … Continue reading
The Assessment of Progress
Links updated: August 2019 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 … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice, publications
Tagged ARM, augmentation, birth, contractions, labour pattern, oxytocin, pushing, syntocinon
97 Comments
The Effective Labour Contraction
Updated: February 2022 One of my failings as a midwife is my inability to assess the strength and effectiveness of a uterine contraction. This presents a problem in the hospital setting as midwives are often asked ‘how strong are her … Continue reading
Posted in birth, midwifery practice
Tagged contractions, heart rate, induction, labour pattern, oxytocin, pitocin, syntocinon
105 Comments