Tag Archives: information giving

Post-Dates Induction of Labour: balancing risks

Updated: August 2019 In Australia 33% of labours are induced (40.5% of first time mothers). The most common reason for induction is to prevent a ‘prolonged pregnancy’. That’s an awful lot of babies outstaying their welcome and requiring eviction. I am … Continue reading

Posted in baby, birth, intervention | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 263 Comments

Responsibilities in the mother-midwife relationship

Updated: April 2020 When I facilitate workshops with midwives and students, there is always a lot of discussion and debate about professional responsibilities in the mother-midwife relationship. These debates often get heated, and the complexities of legal, professional, and ethical issues … Continue reading

Posted in law, midwifery practice, opinion and thoughts, uncategorized | Tagged , , | 29 Comments

Information Giving and the Law

I was writing a blog post on induction for prolonged pregnancy but got side tracked reflecting on a recent study day I attended about law. So, I will get this out of my system before finishing the induction post. It … Continue reading

Posted in law, midwifery practice | Tagged , , , , , | 49 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 , , , , , , | 178 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 , , , , , , | 169 Comments

Guest post: when birth is trauma

Links update: August 2019 This is a guest post by Elizabeth Ford who is based in the UK so is writing from a UK perspective. Elizabeth explored birth trauma for her PhD and generously agreed to write a post for MidwifeThinking. … Continue reading

Posted in birth, guest post, intervention, law | Tagged , , , , | 71 Comments

Testing, Testing…

From the moment a woman is pregnant she is offered an ever increasing variety of tests. I use the term ‘offered’ despite the reality that the tests are rarely presented as options. When I ask women about the tests they … Continue reading

Posted in intervention, midwifery practice, pregnancy | Tagged , , , , , , , | 37 Comments