Category: Research Updates

What’s the chance of having another PPH?

What’s the chance of having another PPH, if you’ve had one before? For some women, that’s an important question. Women who have had a previous postpartum haemorrhage (PPH, or excessive bleeding after birth) are often advised to have their future babies…

Women’s experiences of augmentation of labour

A study looking at women’s experiences of augmentation of labour has highlighted problems with informed decision making and shown that having a synthetic oxytocin infusion in labour can cause an atypically painful labour and lead to negative birth experiences. Alòs-Pereñíguez…

Which first-time mums are more at risk of caesarean?

Which first-time mums are more at risk of caesarean? There is growing concern about the number of unnecessary caesareans, and the rate of these is especially high in first-time mums. That concern is the reason behind doing the research that…

Birth trauma research

Sara Wickham looks at birth trauma research which highlights the experiences of women and shows how important it is that we look at this area more closely.

Trends in induction of labour

How are trends in induction of labour changing? And has the publication of the controversial ARRIVE Trial affected this? Two recent studies have added to our knowledge about the effects of changing guidelines and narratives on trends in induction of…

What is a labour plateau?

As a midwife, the labour plateau is a phenomenon with which I am very familiar. I have attended mostly physiological births, and it is common to see labour slowing, pausing or even stalling. There are – to put it in…