Membranes usually rupture spontaneously towards the end of the first stage labour. But during the 1970s the advent of the partogram and the idea of the ‘active management of labour’ made artificial rupturing of membranes (ARM) common practice. This was seen as a useful way…
Effective preparation - physical, emotional and intellectual - can have a huge impact on birth outcomes. It can significantly increasing the likelihood of a normal birth and a healthy baby, and it can greatly enhance the satisfaction of the mother. Good preparation helps to prepare…
“The perfect practitioner appears to do nothing, yet nothing is left undone.”Lao TzuA normal labour unfolds in its own time, which often means that it involves a great deal of waiting. And masterly inactivity is really the art of waiting. Which, of course, doesn’t mean…
Relaxed women labour better. The physiological state of relaxation has positive benefits, and influences our ability to cope. When we feel afraid or anxious, our response is ‘fight or flight’ and we produce stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. These inhibit the release of oxytocin…
“To awake my senses; rouse me from the darkenss of the womb and begin to shape the essence that is me.”Audrey WillisIn making the first journey of its life, through the birth canal, a baby goes through a major physiological change. The womb was secure,…
Every woman has a picture of how the birth of her baby will be. She will have drawn this from many different sources: her own previous experience (if she has any), the things she has heard and been told, reading, films and tv.Her picture of…
Some women are silent in labour, others hum, some rock backwards and forwards while others swear, sing or chant. Making a noise or swearing in labour doesn’t mean that a woman requires pain relief or that she should be silenced. In fact women’s noises are…
Some women are silent in labour, others hum, some rock backwards and forwards while others swear, sing or chant. Making a noise or swearing in labour doesn’t mean that a woman requires pain relief or that she should be silenced. In fact women’s noises are…