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Clinical Practice

Post traumatic stress disorder post childbirth versus postnatal depression: a guide for midwives

The transition to motherhood is multifaceted, with many biological, physiological, social and psychological changes occurring simultaneously Although the majority of women make the transition to...

Focus on cardiotocography: Intrapartum monitoring of uterine contractions

Uterine contraction monitoring is most often ignored when discussing the benefits of fetal monitoring (Bakker 2007a; Freeman et al, 2012) Monitoring the uterine contraction (UC) and the fetal heart...

Barriers to success: smoking cessation conversations

The concept of public health involves national and local health initiatives, health education and the creation of social and physical environments to protect and promote population health (Dawson and...

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...

Providing sun safety advice: The midwife's role

Of all the different types of cancer diagnosed globally, skin cancer is the most prolific (Nguyen et al, 2012), and melanoma remains the major cause of death from skin cancer (Trakatelli et al, 2012)...

Periodontal health and pregnancy

This article discusses factors that affect periodontal (gum) health and implications associated with delay in conception and reported adverse pregnancy outcomes Periodontal disease is the result of a...

A clinical assessment tool for midwives undertaking the Newborn Infant Physical Examination

The purpose of the Newborn and Infant Physical Examination (NIPE) is to identify and refer all children born with congenital abnormalities of the eyes, heart, hips, and testes, where these are...

Clinical practice: Perineal suturing

It is estimated that 1 000 women per day will experience perineal suturing following vaginal birth in the UK alone (Kettle et al, 2010) The aim of suturing perineal trauma is to achieve haemostasis,...

Caring for pregnant women with long-term conditions: maternal and neonatal effects of epilepsy

Worldwide, epilepsy is thought to affect approximately 1% of people (Grant, 2016) Though subject to various methodological (definitions of disease) and clinical issues (diagnostic criteria) this...

Prevention of neonatal whooping cough in England: The essential role of the midwife

Pertussis is a vaccine-preventable disease of global public health significance Estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO, 2011) suggest that, in 2008, about 16 million cases of pertussis...

Labour and beyond: The roles of synthetic and endogenous oxytocin in transition to motherhood

In the course of spontaneous physiological labour, endogenous oxytocin is released from the pituitary gland and initiates uterine contractions However, when it is deemed medically necessary to induce...

Management of shoulder dystocia using the HELPERR mnemonic

Shoulder dystocia occurs when a fetal shoulder becomes impacted, most commonly on the maternal symphysis pubis, or the sacral promontory of the maternal pelvis (Royal College of Obstetricians and...

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