Parenthood: Uncharted territory?

It may have taken millions of years for humans to evolve, but when it comes to attitudes, evolution can be rapid

Overcoming the barriers of vitamin D in pregnancy: A midwifery public health perspective

Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) (2008, 2017a; 2017b) and Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) (2014a) recommends vitamin D...

Gestational diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is an endocrine disorder in which insulin production or action is insufficient, resulting in hyperglycaemia Insulin is produced in pancreatic beta (b) cells and is required for the...

The effectiveness of an online module for midwives conducting antenatal pertussis vaccinations

There has been a resurgence in pertussis, with the highest incidence and complication rates in young infants, and deaths occurring mainly before 3 months of age (Healy, 2016) The most effective way to...

Maternal attitude towards breastfeeding: A concept analysis

This article explores and clarifies the concept of maternal attitude as related to breastfeeding by exploring the literature and undertaking a concept analysis using Walker and Avant's (2011)...

‘No offence, it's just that research is boring’: The trials and tribulations of the midwifery research educator

The argument that ‘research is boring’ is one that greets me most days when trying to introduce research to undergraduate student midwives The role of research in midwifery has become well established...

Students in practice: The role of the student support midwife

Vaccines and the fetus

The vote to repeal the Eighth Amendment of the Irish Constitution, which previously banned abortion, righted a long-standing wrong The vote also vindicated the principles of autonomy and justice,...

Why Home Birth Matters by Natalie Meddings

Why Home Birth Matters I was excited...

Coercion or consent?

The principle of ‘do no harm’ has been a part of medicine since the Hippocratic oath more than 2000 years ago Expanded upon by the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), this...

Transition

The word ‘transition’ can apply to many areas of our lives Our very first transition is that from the warm, usually inverted world of in-utero existence, into the air- and light-filled birth room,...

The NHS: Healing inequality since 1948

Marking 100 years since the end of the First World War, 50 years of the American Civil Rights Act and 200 years since the first human blood transfusion, 2018 is a year of many important anniversaries....