Sara Wickham unpacks the birthkit essentials carried by midwifery colleagues and shares some great tips of things you might want to have at a birth.
Twenty birthkit essentials
Category: Articles
Home fetal dopplers “strongly discouraged”
Government and professional bodies in the UK have publicly advised against the use of fetal dopplers by parents in the home. Dr Sara Wickham explains.
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?
Screening: what are we missing?
Does the use of modern screening technology come with downsides? Sara Wickham argues that it does, both in life and birth.
Cerridwyn and the Pixies: A Holiday Fairytale
Sara Wickham tells a holiday story of research pixies who learn why some types of research are (inappropriately) valued more than others.
The Poo Taboo
Sara Wickham presents the results of a conversation amonst women who are also midwives on the topic of poo in labour.
The folly of fully dilated
There are a few myths about the idea that women need to be fully dilated to give birth, and that this means the same thing for every woman.
Stepping Stones and Cervical Wisdom
What is cervical wisdom, why is it important, and why have many midwifery and medical textbooks got it so wrong? Sara Wickham explains.
Holistic therapies: proof and plausibility
Why it isn’t justifiable to ban complementary therapies from use in the NHS, and why women and clinicians are concerned about this.
Tips for physiological birth of the placenta
Sara Wickham shares tips for physiological birth of the placenta which emerged from a discussion held with a circle of midwives.