Dr Rachel Reed
midwife • author • presenter • researcher
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I'm having an intermission for week or two. In the meantime you can contact me via email or my website (link in bio).The audiobook version of Why Induction Matters is now available from Audible and iTunes Books.One of my mottos cross-stitched in cat font. What a perfect gift @drsarawickhamLet's face it, we all have egos and some of us like to be needed. As careproviders we must keep an eye on ourselves and our actions/agendas. A woman's birth is her rite of passage. It is not an opportunity for us to meet the needs of our ego, or worse use for self-promotion.Old black cat was not cooperating with the photoshoot - apologies @drsarawickham.Missing my partner in (thought) crime @midwife.dr.clare. So happy we got to hang out before lockdown and quarantine. Photos = Clare being impressed with my trot-stumble route but unimpressed with my pace. She went for a 'proper run' the next day. + Noosa National Park after I trapped her finger in the car door to slow her down.
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?
- The Curse of Meconium Stained Liquor
- In Celebration of the OP Baby
- Supporting women's instinctive pushing behaviour during birth
- Shoulder Dystocia: the real story
- Post-Dates Induction of Labour: balancing risks
- Gestational Diabetes: beyond the label
- Nuchal Cords: the perfect scapegoat
- Induction: a step by step guide
Tag Archives: pushing
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
The Anterior Cervical Lip: how to ruin a perfectly good birth
Updated: June 2021 Here is a scenario I keep hearing over and over: A woman is labouring away and all is good. She begins to push with contractions, and her midwife encourages her to follow her body. After a little … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, cervical lip, cervix, occipito-posterior, OP, pushing
442 Comments
Perineal Protectors?
Updated: September 2019 Most women will sustain some damage to their perineum during birth (AIHW 2018). Around 50% will have a tear or graze in the skin and/or vaginal wall (1st / 2nd degree). Occasionally (1% of non-instrumental vaginal births) … Continue reading
Posted in birth, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, episiotomy, perineum, positions, pushing, water
109 Comments
Supporting women’s instinctive pushing behaviour during birth
This article was published in The Practising Midwife journal in June 2015 along with ‘practice challenge’ questions for midwives (not included here). Introduction Clinical guidelines recommend that women should be guided by their own pushing urges during birth (National Institute for Health … Continue reading
Pushing: leave it to the experts
Updated: July 2019 A birthing woman is the expert regarding when and how she pushes. Providing directions implies she needs our guidance and we are the experts. Of course each woman and birth situation is different and in some circumstances … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged birth, cervical lip, cervix, hypnobirthing, pushing
116 Comments
Listening to Baby During Labour
Updated: January 2018 Intermittent auscultation (IA) is considered to be an important aspect of midwifery care for women during a ‘low risk’ labour. The expectation of surveillance of the baby is reflected in guidelines and hospital policies. The recommended frequency of … Continue reading
Posted in baby, birth, midwifery practice
Tagged auscultation, baby, birth, doppler, heart rate, pinnard, pushing
25 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 baby, birth, intervention, pushing
99 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
