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.
Is home birth safe?
Category: Research Updates
Oxytocin and birth: the latest evidence
The latest evidence on oxytocin and birth: Sara Wickham looks at a review which helps explain why spontaneous, physiological labour and birth is beneficial.
Vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy
New data have changed the conclusions of the Cochrane review on vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy.
EFM: ubiquitous yet flawed
“EFM has become a quintessential example of the perils of adopting new medical technologies without proper study of risks and benefits,” says a Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Microbiome seeding and woman-centred care
Sara Wickham discusses a woman-centred paper on vaginal seeding, whose authors highlight complex but really important elements of this conversation.
Caseload midwifery continues to outperform standard maternity care
Sara Wickham shares links to evidence showing that caseload midwifery outperforms standard maternity care – time and time again.
Another way of helping babies with shoulder dystocia?
Sara Wickham discusses a paper on the shoulder shrug maneuver, designed to facilitate birth in cases where a baby experiences shoulder dystocia.
Prophylactic antibiotics after instrumental birth?
A large trial on prophylactic antibiotics after instrumental birth which shows that this reduces the chance of infection from one in five to one in ten.
“EFM is a waste of extremely scarce resources…”
A new paper analysing the evidence for electronic fetal monitoring shows this to be ineffective as a means of reducing cerebral palsy in sub-Saharan Africa.
Recurrent episodes of reduced fetal movement and pregnancy risk
New research from the UK has found no evidence to suggest that recurrent episodes of reduced fetal movement increase pregnancy risk.