An updated version of the Cochrane review on Active versus expectant management for women in the third stage of labour has just been published, although the main conclusions have not changed.
Sara Wickham discusses the experience of midwives who can smell when birth is imminent (part 2).
Sara Wickham writes about research looking at why women are dissatisfied with induction of labour.
A summary of the advantages of leaving the umbilical cord intact for longer after birth.
Sara Wickham discusses a review of women’s experiences of induction for post-term pregnancy.
“No amount of resilience training, and telling us to be kind and compassionate, will address the serious and undermining deep-rooted challenges in our underfunded and under-resourced NHS.”
On December 21st 2018, we lost one of midwifery’s heroes, Mary Cronk. A staunch and strong advocate for women, Mary was a passionate midwife, an inspiring teacher and a famously and delightfully stroppy woman. She was a true radical who…
Happy Holidays! This is my last blog post of 2018 … as always, we are going to turn off our computers and turn on the festive away message over the holidays. This year, we’ve had loads fun hanging out with…
Sara Wickham discusses how our languages focuses more on complication and risk than normality.
A Cochrane review has confirmed that some research results are more likely to get published than others, which is one reason why evidence may not be as reliable as some people think.
A quote from Sara Wickham about the ‘stories behind the evidence’ relating to vitamin K.
Research shows that midwifery care in pregnancy reduces the chance of small and low birthweight babies as well as of preterm birth.
Sara Wickham highlights a research study showing the transformative benefits of physiological birth.
Sara Wickham reviews a new book in which women share their stories of giving birth in midwife-led areas in Wales.
Sara Wickham looks at research showing the gap between gap between what women need and want and the reality of what they experience when undergoing induction of labour.
A systematic review has concluded that induction prior to post-term is associated with few beneficial outcomes and several adverse outcomes.
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Is it any wonder that many women don’t know how to trust their bodies or have a sense that decisions about their body are theirs and theirs alone to make?
Sara Wickham raises questions about how we measure blood loss during and after the birth of the placenta.
A senior midwife has shared her thoughts on a study looking into the work, health and emotional lives of midwives in the UK which does not appear to have been publicised by the organisation that commissioned it, the Royal College of Midwives.
Birthing Your Placenta: the third stage of labour … updated version available from 20th September 2018!
Sara Wickham offers a variety of resources for student midwives and others studying birth-related areas.
It was so good to see a paper in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology this month calling for better definitions of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH). Borovac-Pinheiro et al (2018) write that, “The current definition of [postpartum haemorrhage] is inadequate…
A review of trials comparing induction of labour with expectant management has concluded that evidence is lacking for the recommendation to induce labour at 41 weeks instead of 42 weeks for the improvement of perinatal outcome.
This post offers a summary of labour and progress related resources that are right here and freely available on my website. Let’s start with some thoughts on why normal birth matters to women, some studies related to normal birth, why…
Sara Wickham writes about an important study published in Birth which further illustrates the disrespectful care and abuse that some women experience during childbirth.
Untangling the Maternity Crisis: an important new book detailing the problems faced within maternity care.
I was really interested to see a feature in a recent edition of the British Medical Journal entitled “Why religious belief should be declared as a competing interest”, in which Richard Smith and Jane Blazeby suggested that people’s faith can…
The results of a large trial on Carbetocin have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
An important paper has been published in Birth: Issues in Perinatal Care this month, in which expert maternity care researchers from around the world have come together to call for a new approach to research. In ‘Asking different questions: A…
A number of features of our modern culture have made making birth-related decisions trickier than ever. Our TV, cinema and computer screens are filled with dramatic and unrealistic portrayals of birth, which often make it out to be ‘risky’ and…
This is one of my favourite articles that I have written, and I realised this week that it is now 15 years old. I am sharing it again in the hope that others will enjoy it too 🙂 Last month…
A systematic review and meta-analysis has further confirmed the safety of home birth for healthy women, even if they are having their first baby. After comparing data from births planned at home birth, in birth centres and in hospital, researchers…
The decisions that we make about our pregnancy and childbirth journeys can shape our experiences, health and lives, as well as those of our families. But many of those decisions are complex, confusing and overwhelming. They are often made harder…
