This page lists all the resources available from Dr Sara Wickham on the topics of post-term pregnancy and induction of labour.
Post-term pregnancy and induction of labour resources
What is a stretch and sweep?
Many women are offered a ‘stretch and sweep’ in late pregnancy. But what is this, why and how is it done, does it work and can you say no?
Women are not given adequate information about induction
Another survey has identified a continuing problem with women not being able to get clear information about induction of labour (PIF 2021). This study was conducted by the Patient Information Forum in collaboration with a number of birth charities. It…
Happy Holidays! We’re taking a winter break.
Happy Holidays from Sara Wickham. Here’s wishing you a fabulous festive season, and we’ll see you next year!
Sara Wickham is back in The Midwives’ Cauldron!
I’m back in The Midwives’ Cauldron! One morning last week, I got up very early and met up online with Katie James and Dr Rachel Reed, creators of The Midwives’ Cauldron podcast. We chatted about the induction epidemic, the updated…
In Your Own Time now available!
In Your Own Time – now available, and on the bestseller list! In Your Own Time: how western medicine controls the start of labour and why this needs to stop is Dr Sara Wickham’s newest book. It has been written…
Guess what I did this summer?
I didn’t intend to write another book in 2021. But then the draft NICE guideline on induction of labour was released and, like many people, I was deeply concerned. The evidence on which the guidance was based was questionable, and…
The 2021 NICE guideline on inducing labour
Today saw the publication of the 2021 NICE guideline on inducing labour. The guideline “…concerns the circumstances, methods and monitoring for inducing labour in pregnant women.” (NICE 2021). The draft version of the guideline caused a lot of controversy when it…
Postnatal heparin: what’s the evidence?
What do women want when it comes to the induction decision? Dr Sara Wickham investigates research which shows that it’s more complex than we might think.
Anti-D resources
This post offers links to all of the group B strep resources on Sara Wickham’s website, including articles, blog posts and a few external resources.
Does antenatal Anti-D help the current baby?
Does antenatal anti-D help the current baby? Sara Wickham demystifies the science and answers this question in simple terms.
Optimal cord clamping: what’s the evidence?
What do women want when it comes to the induction decision? Dr Sara Wickham investigates research which shows that it’s more complex than we might think.
The Sara Wickham Etsy shop has been restocked!
The Sara Wickham Etsy shop has been restocked, so it’s time to go shopping and help support our work! Our shop is here and it will be open for you to buy holiday gifts – or maybe something for yourself…
Anti-D in pregnancy: how we haven’t moved on…
The first Cochrane review of the research relating to the administration of Anti-D during pregnancy was undertaken in 1996. Nearly twenty years later, September 2015 saw the publication of the latest update. During that time, however, the only changes were…
Gathering in the Knowledge – last course in 2021!
Gathering in the Knowledge: an annual update online course for midwives and birth folk. Bite-sized, guilt-free, interactive and bang-up-to-date.
Ten ways I can help midwifery students
Sara Wickham offers a variety of resources for student midwives and others studying birth-related areas.
Holiday time, and a self-care reminder
9 things you might not know about Anti-D…
Over the years, I’ve become aware that there are a few things that people are sometimes surprised to learn when I speak about Anti-D. I made sure to include all of these and loads more when I wrote my book Anti-D…
Induction associated with more interventions and adverse outcomes
Another study has confirmed that induction is associated with more interventions and adverse outcomes. That was the finding of a group of researchers who, “compared intrapartum interventions and outcomes for mothers, neonates and children up to 16 years, for induction…
Ten reasons to question the draft NICE Guideline on inducing labour
May 2021 saw the publication of a draft NICE guideline on inducing labour. NICE stands for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. It is the body that provides national guidance and advice to inform health and social care…
How to save 40,000 women a year from having unnecessary Anti-D…
How many women receive unnecessary anti-D? Sara Wickham looks at some of the issues concerning antenatal anti-D and fetal blood testing.
Anti-D information: getting started
Many people visit this website looking for Anti-D information. Anti-D is the name of a medicine offered to rhesus negative women who may have been exposed to rhesus positive blood. It’s known as RhoGAM® in the USA. Anti-D is given…
Sara Wickham is in The Midwives’ Cauldron!
Sara Wickham is in The Midwives’ Cauldron! We’re delighted to tell you that Dr Sara Wickham recently met up online with Katie James and Dr Rachel Reed, creators of The Midwives’ Cauldron podcast. They chatted about Instagram, orangutans, Sara’s new…
Anti-D Explained now available!
Anti-D Explained – now available! Anti-D Explained is Dr Sara Wickham’s newest book. It has been written to help parents and professionals to understand the science, the issues and the evidence relating to Anti-D. It has a foreword written by Michel Odent.…
Group B Strep resources
This post offers links to all of the group B strep resources on Sara Wickham’s website, including articles, blog posts and a few external resources.
Is home birth safe?
Our home birth information hub – the latest research on the safety of home birth and links to many of Dr Sara Wickham’s articles and blog posts on this.
Induction increases the chance of caesarean
Over the years, I have shared a number of studies showing that induction increases the chance of caesarean. A 2021 study has again reinforced our knowledge in this area. In real world settings – and I’ll explain what that means…
Am I Allowed?
If there were a Nobel prize for birth activism, then Beverley Beech would surely have been given one by now. Formerly Honorary Chair of AIMS, still a legendary campaigner, brilliant speaker and supporter of women’s rights in pregnancy and birth,…
A revelation that every birth worker needs to know about gravity and placental transfusion
Do we really need to hold newborn babies at the level of the placenta so that gravity can assist transfusion? No, according to new research.
Unexpected home birth: let’s keep our shoelaces on…
Sara Wickham explains why advice given by the emergency services to use shoelaces to tie the cord at birth is incorrect and dangerous
Has the pandemic affected induction of labour?
What do women want when it comes to the induction decision? Dr Sara Wickham investigates research which shows that it’s more complex than we might think.
How to cancel a labour induction?
Dr Sara Wickham discusses how to cancel labour induction. And where to get more information if you need it before making your decision.
Vitamin K Resources
Articles and resources relating to vitamin K for newborn babies. By Sara Wickham, a midwife, researcher and author who has written extensively on this.
How to share content so everyone benefits…
How to share content so that everyone benefits? Dr Sara Wickham offers some suggestions and tips to help you stay generous, friendly and legal.
Vitamin K: the stories behind the evidence
Sara Wickham shares ‘vitamin K stories’; the tales and context behind the evidence and knowledge that we have in relation to vitamin K for newborn babies.
Women with higher BMI: it doesn’t have to be complicated!
We have heard much over the past few years about the risks posed to women with higher BMI than average. It’s clear, however, that this focus is problematic in a number of ways. The evidence isn’t clear cut. There is…
Five things parents should know if they decide to decline vitamin K for their baby
What information should we offer when parents decide to decline vitamin K? Sara Wickham offers an overview and an infographic.
Happy Birthday Birth Information Update!
Happy birthday to Sara Wickham’s Birth Information Update … and here’s the story of how it happened and how it continues…
Home birth after caesarean
Home birth after caesarean (or HBAC) is an increasingly popular option. Women and families know that they will be less subject to monitoring and interference at home. It is thought by some that this may lead to a higher chance…
How do midwives support women in bureaucratic health care systems?
How do midwives support women in bureaucratic health care systems? The past few years have seen some less than accurate depictions of midwives and midwifery practice so I was heartened to see the publication of a study that I chose…
Six principles for effectively managing your research project
Dr Sara Wickham offers six tips for managing your research project. What to keep, what to do with it, and how often to remove the cat from your in-basket…
Bacteria and the Microbiome – Resources
Sara Wickham offers an overview of bacteria and microbiome related resources along with the story of her knitted bacteria and some ideas for their use!
Eight things I’d like to share with midwifery students who care…
Sara Wickham offers some words of support and advice for the student midwife – aspiring, new or experienced – to take on their journey.
Induction and synchronised swimming: Mary Cronk words of wisdom
Sara Wickham shares the wisdom of Mary Cronk, one of midwifery’s heroes. Thoughts on induction, labour and synchronised swimming…
Another study, another dodgy headline! Please don’t steal our coffee!
A study was recently published in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology entitled ‘Associations between consumption of coffee and caffeinated soft drinks and late stillbirth—Findings from the Midland and North of England stillbirth case-control study’. The…
Black women are STILL far more likely to die in childbirth
MBRRACE-UK have published the latest report from their United Kingdom’s Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths programme and it shows that Black women are still far more likely to die in childbirth than white women. Those of mixed race and Asian…
Vitamin K and the Newborn online course
Join Dr Sara Wickham for a week of online learning, discussion and reflection on the evidence relating to vitamin K prophylaxis for newborn babies.
Black, Black British, Asian and Asian British babies twice as likely to die
A report published in the UK has shown that Black and Asian babies are twice as likely to die as white babies. (Direct link here). MBRRACE-UK (a project run by a multi-disciplinary research team based at Oxford University) have published…
Five tips for seasonal self-care
Sara Wickham offers tips on holiday self-care and an invitation to think about how you’re going to care for yourself over the festive season.
A cautionary holiday tale
A cautionary holiday tale, by Sara Wickham, about labour ward risk management and how it ruined the day of Rudolph the red-nosed quantity surveyor
Ten things you can do before clamping the umbilical cord…
Dr Sara Wickham suggests things that can be done before clamping the umbilical cord, thus ensuring that babies get their full complement of blood.
Knitted breast patterns and exchange
Cervical wisdom resources
Have you ever noticed what real women’s cervixes do in labour? How they haven’t read the textbooks? Sara Wickham shares her work on cervical wisdom.
Women’s perceptions and experiences of COVID-19
Researchers have just published the first study looking at women’s perceptions of COVID-19 and their healthcare experiences in the UK. This was a qualitative thematic analysis and it was published in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. Back in May of this…
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Get regular, reliable, free monthly email updates on birth-related research and thinking from Sara Wickham.
The importance of illumination – the case of covert retention
Dr Sara Wickham looks at the issue of covert retention in the hours after birth and asks whether evidence really does support routine urine measurement.
Perineal care bundles: clinicians’ concerns
Perineal care bundles are a hot topic right now. The past few weeks have seen the publication of two papers relating to the OASI (or obstetric anal sphincter injury) care bundle that has been under trial in the UK. This…
Top ten technologies that have improved the lives of women and midwives
Dr Sara Wickham shares the top ten technologies that have improved the lives of women and midwives, voted for by midwifery and medical colleages.
Black women are five times more likely to die in childbirth, so what can we do?
Black women are five times more likely to die in childbirth than white women. The increased attention that has been given to the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 has caused more people than ever to make tiles black and…
Normality and Goalposts
Dr Sara Wickham discusses questions relating to normality. And goalposts. What can we learn from studies about urine output and new mothers’ sleep?