Depression can have a profound impact on mothers and their children. But women often have no idea that they have depression – nor do their medical providers.
Patients must be able to make informed decisions about whether to pursue IVF – and when to stop.
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Some patients might be offered IVF who don’t actually need it, and some might be offered repeated cycles of treatment, even when they aren’t likely to succeed.
Woman in labor, shown with monitors. Via Shutterstock.
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Childbirth in the U.S. can be dangerous and dehumanizing. An ob/gyn who traveled recently to India to review childbirth there says the U.S. and India fall short in similar ways.
Women and their care givers need to be aware of the long-term risks of an early planned delivery.
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Epidurals were developed for pregnant women to address the severe pain of labour. In Australia approximately one in three pregnant women in labour has an epidural for pain relief.
A simple heat pack can reduce pain and perineal tearing during childbirth.
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Fear of perineal tearing is common as women prepare for childbirth. A simple warm pack can ease pain, prevent physical trauma and aid in recovery after your baby is born.
Suicide is uncommon during pregnancy – it occurs more frequently when a pregnancy is over.
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The clinical committee reviewing obstetrics services for the federal government’s Medicare review said suicide is one of the leading causes of maternal death in Australia. Is that true?
The reduction of childbirth to a ‘choice’ between surgery and vaginal birth with interventions comes from patriarchal views about the fundamental failure of the female body.
Talking with patients who’ve had Zika is tough.
Pregnant woman and doctor image via www.shutterstock.com.
Physicians like me are learning about Zika along with our patients. This takes a dose of humility on our part and an understanding from our patients that we learn something new every single day.
Recent studies have revealed an emerging understanding of the benefits of birthing relationships through the childbearing process.
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More than 300,000 women give birth in Australia each year. Most (97%) give birth in hospitals (72% of these in public and 28% in private), while 0.3% are born before they arrive at hospital.
During the first few minutes after birth a baby can receive 80-100 millilitres of blood – nearly a third of their blood volume.
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One of the most common surgical procedures undertaken in the world today – one that every human alive has undergone – is the clamping and cutting of the umbilical cord at birth.
For childbirth, how much intervention is too much?
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It’s difficult to imagine how something as big as a baby’s head can come out of what appears to be a relatively small space. But during childbirth, the perineum – the area of skin and muscle between the…
Only a handful of Australian hospitals offer continuity of care and midwives on call.
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In the much-loved British TV drama Call the Midwife, women are offered care from dedicated midwives through pregnancy, labour and birth. The midwives are therefore able to get to know the women and practice…
Upright births are likely to be shorter, less painful and involve fewer interventions than recumbent births.
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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…
Overly optimistic expectations about the birthing process may taint the experience for many women.
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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…