It has been a placenta-filled month for me! And, as we get ready to launch our latest online course, Birthing the Placenta, I wanted to update and re-share this page of resources, which links to all of the resources on this site which relate to the birth of the placenta and the management (or not) of the third stage of labour.
I became interested in this area early on in my midwifery career, and I first wrote about this topic twenty years ago. My interest continued as part of my work on anti-D, and I went on to co-author Birthing Your Placenta with Nadine Edwards. I also now offer an online course, Birthing the Placenta, which is designed to help midwives and other birth workers get up-to-date with the evidence in this area and help women make the decision that is right for them.
The articles related to placental birth and the third stage of labour that are freely available on this site include:
I have also published a number of blog posts on this and related topics. Some of these directly discuss articles which are already linked to above, but I have still included them because they may also contain extra comments…
- More than clinical waste? Placenta rituals among Australian home-birthing women
- A revelation that every birth worker needs to know about gravity and placental transfusion
- The most interesting placenta I’ve seen this year
- Quote of the month: precious blood
- Quote of the month: honouring placenta wisdom
- Cord clamping, blood banking
- The theoretical risk of water embolism
- We need a better way of defining postpartum haemorrhage
- Can I have a natural placental birth after induction?
And although it’s not strictly about the birth of the placenta, here’s what I have on the consumption of placentas, as it’s something we get asked about a lot…