Dr Rachel Reed
midwife, senior lecturer, writer, presenter and birth nerd-
Archived by the National Library of Australia and Partners
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ACM AHPRA amniotic fluid amniotic sac ARM asynclitism augmentation auscultation Australia baby behaviour birth blame blood tests caesarean caul cervical lip cervix choice complication consent contractions cord blood cultural norms documentation doppler episiotomy ethics fear guest post heart rate homebirth hypnobirthing induction information giving intervention judgement labour pattern law meconium medical paradigm microbiome midwifery midwifery practices negligence nuchal cord occipito-posterior OP optimal fetal positioning oxytocin perineum phd pinnard pitocin placenta positions pregnancy prelabour rupture of membrances pushing research resuscitation risk screening shoulder dystocia stages of labour stem cells syntocinon testing trauma ultrasound umbilical cord uterine rupture vbac water waterbirthTop Posts
- Amniotic Fluid Volume: too much, too little, or who knows?
- The Effective Labour Contraction
- The Curse of Meconium Stained Liquor
- Induction of Labour: balancing risks
- The Anterior Cervical Lip: how to ruin a perfectly good birth
- Pre-labour Rupture of Membranes: impatience and risk
- In Celebration of the OP Baby
- The Assessment of Progress
- The Human Microbiome: considerations for pregnancy, birth and early mothering
- Feel the Fear and Birth Anyway
Tag Archives: syntocinon
Pre-labour Rupture of Membranes: impatience and risk
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 by using prostaglandins … Continue reading
Posted in baby, birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged amniotic fluid, amniotic sac, augmentation, baby, birth, contractions, induction, nuchal cord, oxytocin, prelabour rupture of membrances, risk, syntocinon, waterbirth
218 Comments
The Placenta: essential resuscitation equipment
Knowledge about the short-term and long-term benefits of ‘delayed cord clamping’ is finally making it into practice. Midwives and in some cases obstetricians are realising the importance of allowing the placenta to finish circulating blood before intervening. I personally don’t … Continue reading
Posted in baby, birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged ARM, baby, birth, heart rate, intervention, nuchal cord, placenta, resuscitation, syntocinon, umbilical cord
109 Comments
In Defence of the Amniotic Sac
Artificial rupture of membranes (ARM) aka ‘breaking the waters’ is a common intervention during birth. However, an ARM should not be carried out without a good understanding of how the amniotic sac and fluid function in labour. Women need to … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, midwifery practice
Tagged amniotic fluid, amniotic sac, ARM, birth, caul, contractions, heart rate, induction, intervention, syntocinon, waterbirth
218 Comments
Induction: a step by step guide
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 done to them … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention
Tagged amniotic fluid, birth, induction, information giving, intervention, oxytocin, syntocinon
165 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
271 Comments
Amniotic Fluid Volume: too much, too little, or who knows?
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, in particular Coad and Dunstall 2011 and Beall and Ross (2011), … Continue reading
Posted in birth, intervention, pregnancy
Tagged amniotic fluid, ARM, birth, induction, intervention, pregnancy, risk, syntocinon
151 Comments
