Dr Rachel Reed
midwife • academic • writer • presenter
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Archived by the National Library of Australia and Partners
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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?
- Induction: a step by step guide
- The Curse of Meconium Stained Liquor
- Post-Dates Induction of Labour: balancing risks
- VBAC: making a mountain out of a molehill
- In Celebration of the OP Baby
- Pre-labour Rupture of Membranes: impatience and risk
- Shoulder Dystocia: the real story
- Nuchal Cords: the perfect scapegoat
Tag Archives: labour pattern
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
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
Asynclitism: a well aligned baby or a tilted head?
Asynclitism is when the baby’s head is moving through the pelvis ‘tipped’ to one side. This is usually diagnosed by a vaginal examination in labour. However, asynclitism is rarely caused by the baby having his/her head tilted to one side … Continue reading
Posted in birth, midwifery practice
Tagged asynclitism, birth, intervention, labour pattern
124 Comments
Early Labour and Mixed Messages
Updated: October 2019 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 birth, intervention, labour pattern
133 Comments
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
95 Comments
Stages of Labour and Collusion
My New Years resolution is to stop colluding in the myth of stages of labour. Will you join me? This may be a little difficult as a midwife and an educator but I’ll give it a go – will you? … Continue reading
Posted in birth, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, documentation, labour pattern, stages of labour
43 Comments
The Effective Labour Contraction
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 contractions?’ or ‘is … Continue reading
Posted in birth, midwifery practice
Tagged contractions, heart rate, induction, labour pattern, oxytocin, pitocin, syntocinon
103 Comments
