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Pain in labour and the intrapartum use of intramuscular opioids—how effective are they?

In order to consider how to work with pain in labour it is important to understand its function in labour and birth By understanding the physiological role of intrapartum pain, it is possible to...

The future of artificial wombs

In Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932), ectogenesis—growing embryos in artificial environments—thrives at the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre Here, ‘standardised’ individuals are...

The birth of our humanity

There is nothing so profound or influential in human life as the birth of a baby The start to life, people becoming parents, the family forming or reforming, will affect not only the individuals...

Sometimes we all need a little good news

Those who stay up-to-date with midwifery news will have noticed or, more likely, been unable to escape, the fact that the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) held its 31st triennial congress...

The legal status of the fetus

The legal status of the fetus is one of the most controversial topics in medical ethics and law, and invokes a ‘tug of war’ between maternal autonomy and fetal claims Although English law is quite...

Damages awarded for ‘nervous shock’ at a birth

A recent court case heard a claim by a baby's mother and grandmother for damages relating to ‘nervous shock’ following a birth complicated by dystocia (RE and others v Calderdale, 2017) To claim such...

What's in a mnemonic?

In response to the article ‘Management of shoulder dystocia using the HELPERR mnemonic’ (2017), BJM, 25(4): 240-244, by Mary Huntley and Janice Dickson Smith, I would like to acknowledge the effort...

Maternity services in China and professional identity of the midwife

Last November, the author of this article had the opportunity to participate in a professional tour looking at midwifery services in China, enabled by a scholarship from the Florence Nightingale...

Bump Start: developing and piloting a healthy living group intervention for obese pregnant women

Maternal obesity (a body mass index (BMI) of 30kg/m2 or higher at the first antenatal consultation) is a key modifiable risk factor in pregnancy The health problems linked to maternal BMI for both...

Midwifery students and routine discussion of birth experience in the early postnatal period in hospital

During training, midwifery students are educated and supported in providing emotional and psychological care to women during the postnatal period Women often have increased psychological needs...

Exploring community midwives' perceptions of their work experience after deployment in the rural areas of Chitral, Pakistan

Globally, the maternal mortality rate and neonatal mortality rate remain persistently high (World Bank, 2015) Globally, there are 216 maternal deaths per 10 000 live births every year In South Asia,...

Evaluation of infants' exposure to environmental tobacco smoke using salivary cotinine measurements

Many studies have elucidated the relationship between exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and damage to health in children The World Health Organization (WHO) (1999) performed a large-scale...

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