Tag Archives: pushing

Understanding and Assessing Labour Progress

Updated: April 2023 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

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The Anterior Cervical Lip: how to ruin a perfectly good birth

Updated: February 2022 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

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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

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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

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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

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Listening to Baby During Labour

Updated: October 2022 Listening to the baby’s heart rate during labour is considered to be an important aspect of routine midwifery care. There are two methods of listening—intermittent auscultation (IA) and continuous electronic monitoring (CEFM) via a cardiotocograph machine (CTG). … Continue reading

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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

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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 , , , , , , , | 99 Comments