Dr Rachel Reed
midwife • author • educator • researcher
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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).https://midwifethinking.com/2015/05/13/nuchal-cords/Home. Flooded in again. 😬Fascinating Physiology FactWhen I first published this blog post, I received some knee-jerk reactions. Disrupting physiology causes risk.
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Recent Posts
Top Posts
- The Anterior Cervical Lip: how to ruin a perfectly good birth
- Amniotic Fluid Volume: too much, too little, or who knows?
- Big Babies: the risk of care provider fear
- The Curse of Meconium Stained Liquor
- Shoulder Dystocia: the real story
- Nuchal Cords: the perfect scapegoat
- Post-Dates Induction of Labour: balancing risks
- Gestational Diabetes: beyond the label
- Supporting women's instinctive pushing behaviour during birth
- Pre-labour Rupture of Membranes: impatience and risk
Tag Archives: induction
Big Babies: the risk of care provider fear
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 the size of … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice, pregnancy, uncategorized
Tagged baby, caesarean, fear, induction, shoulder dystocia, ultrasound
25 Comments
Why Induction Matters: book release
Updated: July 2019 My book Why Induction Matters is now available from all the usual retailers: Amazon; Book Depository; Booktopia; Capers Bookstore; Wordery Around 1 in 4 women have their labour induced (1 in 3 in the UK and Australia). This book is … 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
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
Induction: a step by step guide
Updated: August 2019 This post has been inspired by conversations I’ve had with women about their experiences of induction. Induction of labour is increasingly common, yet women often seem to be very mis-informed about what it involves, or what was … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention
Tagged amniotic fluid, birth, induction, information giving, intervention, oxytocin, syntocinon
169 Comments
Amniotic Fluid Volume: too much, too little, or who knows?
Updated: December 2017 This post is in response to readers asking me to cover the topic of induction for low amniotic fluid volume (AFV). Most of the content is available in textbooks, in particular Coad and Dunstall 2011 and Beall … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, pregnancy
Tagged amniotic fluid, ARM, birth, induction, intervention, pregnancy, risk, syntocinon
157 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