Tag Archives: intervention

An actively managed placenta may be the best option for most women

Updated: February 2022 The birth of the placenta is my least favourite part of the birth process. Hopefully writing this blog post will be therapeutic as well as informative. I am going to refrain from referring to the birth of … Continue reading

Posted in birth, intervention | Tagged , , , , | 299 Comments

The Curse of Meconium Stained Liquor

Updated: July 2023 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 and increasing her chance of having … Continue reading

Posted in baby, birth, intervention, midwifery practice | Tagged , , , , | 205 Comments

Early Labour and Mixed Messages

Updated: February 2024 This post is about early labour and the mixed messages women are given about this important part of the birthing process. Defining the indefinable The concept of ‘early’ or ‘latent’ labour emerged as a result of the birth … Continue reading

Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice, uncategorized | Tagged , , | 133 Comments

Amniotic Fluid Volume: too much, too little, or who knows?

Updated: May 2023 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 and I have provided references/links for research where … Continue reading

Posted in birth, intervention, pregnancy | Tagged , , , , , , , | 158 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 , , , | 99 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