We all have different expectations about how involved dads should be during pregnancy and childbirth. In the UK, it’s generally seen as a good thing and research is now beginning to show that it matters…
Upright births are likely to be shorter, less painful and involve fewer interventions than recumbent births.
Image from shutterstock.com
Think of childbirth and you’re likely to picture a woman lying on her back on a hospital bed. That’s the position most (78%) Australian women adopt to give birth birth, despite growing evidence that being…
Emotional health problems after childbirth are burdonsome and common.
storyvillegirl/flickr
Post-traumatic stress can result from life-threatening events such as military combat, violent assault or natural disasters. Women who feared that they or their baby would die or be seriously damaged during…
One in three Australian babies are born by caesarean – but we still don’t know the lifetime effects on the offspring.
Image from shutterstock.com
Despite efforts to reduce intervention rates during labour, vaginal births without medical intervention are becoming increasingly rare in Australia and overseas: nearly one in three women in Australian…
You may not forget the pain, but if you’re lucky, the end will justify the means.
Image from shutterstock.com
In an evolutionary sense, memory of pain serves an important purpose. Pain indicates a threat to our safety or our life, and human survival depends on us avoiding things that are going to kill us.
Historically…
There has been very little scientific evidence so far to support sex as a method of inducing labour.
Image from shutterstock.com
Sex. It’s what got you into pregnancy, but is it also the pathway to getting you out?
Around a quarter of all Australian pregnancies are medically induced, with a third of those inductions occurring due…
Private health insurance policies have played a crucial role in the rising rate of caesarean births.
Chimpr
The proportion of women who give birth by caesarean has risen dramatically in the developed world over the past few decades, with rates in Australia almost doubling, from 18% in 1991 to 31% in 2008.
Until…
Women can move more easily in water, enabling them to change position with ease.
Flickr/kTLindSAy
“Women aren’t dolphins” is a phrase often bandied about by those who question why women want to immerse themselves in pools or warm baths during labour and birth. They forget that we’re not mountain goats…
Little is known about pelvic organ prolapse because its symptoms are incredibly embarrassing for women.
Meghana Kulkarni
Millions of Australian women experience a pelvic organ prolapse, but they suffer in silence. This hidden epidemic is a well-kept secret and few people in the rest of the community know anything about the…
The perceived dangers of home birth are overstated.
krzyboy2o
In response to a recent South Australian coroner’s finding that three babies died from preventable causes, Health Minister Tanya Plibersek has said she will close a loophole in national health laws that…
Women and men are portrayed as equally infantile in the film.
Roadshow Films
What to Expect When You’re Expecting is basically a 1980s frat film, complete with busty girls in bikinis, golf buggies crashing into swimming pools, and vomit and fart jokes – all window dressed with…
Home birth isn’t going away – and time is running out to solve the insurance dilemma.
Flickr/hubeRsen
Women have the right to determine what happens to their bodies; and this includes where and how they give birth. But from July 2013, private midwives may not be able to legally provide their services to…
Rates of stillbirth have fallen in rich countries but are now reaching a plateau.
flickr/Trevor Blair
Stillbirth is a major but under-researched public health problem affecting three million families each year. Following the 2011 Lancet Stillbirth Series, it has been receiving more attention, and a recent…
Home births for high-risk pregnancies and where a registered midwife isn’t present are risky.
Deannster
We live in a world with many different perspectives on risk. Entire professions now exist to advise us on how to recognise, avoid and manage risk. And the maternity and obstetric professions are no different…
Overly optimistic expectations about the birthing process may taint the experience for many women.
Muus Creation/Flickr
Many women believe they’re likely to go through labour and give birth without medical intervention. But data from Victoria shows that, more often than not, labour does require intervention.
The disconnect…
Only half of all Qld women who chose to give birth by caesarean made an informed decision.
Sean Dreilinger
The proportion of Queensland women giving birth via caesarean section has increased by a staggering 74% in the past 20 years. This wouldn’t be of concern if more babies' lives were saved as a result but…
The frequently cited Netherlands study doesn’t show it’s safe to give birth at home in Australia.
Assy
We’re fortunate to live in a society where robust evidence forms the basis of the information health-care professionals provide to patients – and home birth should be no exception. But the evidence about…
Social realities have a bigger impact on when women have babies than “medical facts”.
ECohen
It seems we have a new “barbecue stopper” about women and families, after comments last week by Perth obstetrician Barry Walters that it is selfish for older women to have babies.
Defending himself from…
More women are opting for caesareans but what are the risks?
Rowan Simpson
In Australia, as in most of the developed world, about one baby in three is now delivered by caesarean section. To put things in perspective, the rate of caesarean birth has almost doubled over the past…
Quality and safety in childbirth should not be equated with obstetric care.
AAP
How we are born, who supports mothers and the quality of the care provided during birth are vital to good public health and personal well being. But all is not well in modern birthing in spite of the advances…
