Sara Wickham looks at the knee-jerk effect in maternity care. When one or two adverse outcomes lead to sweeping policy changes, often with no evidence.
The knee-jerk effect in maternity care
Tag: risk
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 has led researchers looking specifically at this question,…
Are there good reasons to induce labour?
Are there good reasons to induce labour? That’s a question often posted when I talk or write about labour induction. It’s an understandable question. I have spent more than twenty years writing about how induction isn’t always beneficial. I’ve often…
Freebirth – the evidence
Sara Wickham shares studies and discussions relating to freebirth or unassisted birth and the women who opt for this.
Labour progress myths: why size and age may not be the problem
Dr Sara Wickham looks at labour progress myths, and why maternal size and age are sometimes unfairly blamed
The importance of consent: rant, rinse, repeat…
Sara Wickham looks at the concept of risk assessment in pregnancy and childbirth and asks why women aren’t being asked to consent to this.
What does “at risk of needing a caesarean” actually mean?
What do we really mean when we say that someone is ‘at risk of’ or ‘in need of’ something? Not always what those words imply.
Word-thought for the day: replacing risk with chance
Routine induction in healthy women not supported by evidence
Research looking at the effects of induction of labour shows this is associated with few beneficial outcomes and several adverse outcomes.
Less is more…
When less may be more. Sara Wickham writes about the human tendency to want to prioritise action and ‘doing more’, when this may not be the best solution.