Is she allowed?

‘Providing midwife care in this way leads to midwives losing their autonomy and flexibility’ .

Woman-centred care

‘Woman-centred care principles underpin the midwifery profession’ .

From theory to practice

Supporting the future of midwifery

Some individuals display and employ task-related behaviours that are primarily focussed on undertaking a series of events or actions in order to achieve the end goal (Forsyth, 2010), whereas...

I'm only sweeping

The author has been following, with interest, the debates and discussions around the trend of increasing induction rates across the UK, influenced in part by the drive to reduce stillbirth, neonatal...

Trusting women and birth despite the ‘risks’

There are different ideologies and models in maternity care, each with underlying assumptions and philosophies relating to women and the care provided to them during the childbirth continuum. The...

Feminism, midwifery and the medicalisation of birth

Historically, childbirth was the domain of women only, for it was regarded as a female mystery, of which women alone had special knowledge and understanding. From the 1700s, with the rise of science...

Improving outcomes through education and co-creation

The recent Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK (MBRRACE-UK) report has exposed some shocking findings regarding the maternity outcomes amongst...

Provision of supportive care

The increased pace and involuntary nature of labour physiology renders it a period of maximum stress for both the fetus and the mother, particularly within the second stage of labour (McDonnell and...

Physiology's role in labour assessment

This article considers the importance of observing the physiological and behavioural cues exhibited by women during advanced labour to facilitate labour assessment In-depth knowledge of labour...

Is it time for a more holistic assessment of labour progress?

This article considers the assessment of labour progress and questions the generalised acceptance of undertaking routine vaginal examinations during the care provision of women experiencing low-risk...

The value of clinical mnemonics

In the final article of my series exploring neonatal topics relevant to the midwife, I'd like to explore the newborn and infant physical examination (NIPE), and share some aids I have created to...