Dr Rachel Reed
midwife • author • teacher • researcher
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If you don't know... go listen to @themidwivescauldron 😉Reposting as a reminder. The latest Australian and UK birth stats are not a symptom of a broken system. They reflect a maternity system functioning as it was set up to do.Australia's Mothers and Babies Report. It's that time of year again where Australians get further evidence of the erosion of physiological birth. The intervention rates steadily increase year by year. I've highlighted some of the low lights of the report and included data from the Core National Indicators to add some specific subset information.@drsarawickham this is the best I could get... and it didn't last long 😆 Once again there is a significant lack of cat-appreciation for your awesome work.My answer when people ask what childbirth preparation I recommend.This press release is from 2004 yet remains current today.
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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?
- The Curse of Meconium Stained Liquor
- Shoulder Dystocia: the real story
- Post-Dates Induction of Labour: balancing risks
- Big Babies: the risk of care provider fear
- Vaginal examinations: a symptom of a cervical-centric birth culture
- Gestational Diabetes: beyond the label
- Pre-labour Rupture of Membranes: impatience and risk
- Induction: a step by step guide
Tag Archives: oxytocin
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
229 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
An actively managed placental birth might be the best option for most women
The birth of the placenta is my least favourite part of the birth process. I know I have ‘issues’ and I’m working on them. Hopefully writing this blog post will be therapeutic as well as informative. I am going to … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention
Tagged intervention, oxytocin, pitocin, placenta, syntocinon
294 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
97 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
105 Comments
