Category Archives: Hospitals

Cesareans less likely when mother is a physician

By The Midwife | Published: August 30, 2013

There have been several studies which have looked into the economic incentives which might play into the decision making that leads to a cesarean birth, but a new report for the National Bureau of Economic Research (recently reported on NPR) has found that cesareans are 10% less likely when the patient in labor is a […]

Also posted in Cesarean Birth, Research | Leave a comment

Independent Midwifery in the UK threatened

By The Midwife | Published: April 25, 2013

It’s easy to get sucked into your practice bubble when you’re a midwife, and put your nose to the grindstone and not look up much.  Midwifery is like that; it’s one of the hardest jobs out there, demanding huge amounts of your energy and time, and it’s hard to take a moment to catch your […]

Also posted in Homebirth, Issues, Midwifery, News, Politics | Leave a comment

Home Birth Debate Heats Up

By The Midwife | Published: August 27, 2012

I’ve been meaning to write about this for awhile now.  The debate about home birth, usually relegated to the side-lines in the larger debate about birth, has hit the big time recently (well, back in June) as some of our nation’s top female journalists waded into it full force.  First, Michelle Goldberg at the Daily […]

Also posted in Choice, Complications, Homebirth, Issues, Labor and Birth, Midwifery | 4 Comments

Josiah Morgan’s Birth

By The Midwife | Published: August 25, 2012

Another beautiful birth story to share with all of you, this time a successful VBAC in a hospital with an intense pushing phase (but all turned out well, as you shall see!). Enjoy! (And thank you, RH, for sharing your story!) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Josiah’s birth story begins the weekend before he was born. I had been […]

Also posted in Birth Stories, Good Enough to Share, Labor and Birth, VBAC | Leave a comment

Grace’s Birth

By The Midwife | Published: May 27, 2012

Another birth story from my totally fantastic Due Date Club, this one written by Kristy.  I’ve got plenty more stories to come, but I’m trying to ration them a bit, birth story junkies that we all are.  So enjoy this lovely hospital birth with a very supportive team that did a great job of respecting […]

Also posted in Breastfeeding, Labor and Birth, Vaginal Birth | 2 Comments

Ashley Sophia’s birth story

By The Midwife | Published: May 13, 2012

Happy Mother’s Day!  Here’s another fantastic birth story from Kim, a mother in my due date club, this one a successful VBAC with a hospital team that was very respectful of her birth plan.  Isn’t it wonderful when that happens?  Enjoy! ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ On August 20th, 2010, two little pink lines appeared on a pregnancy test […]

Also posted in Birth Stories, Good Enough to Share, Labor and Birth, VBAC | 2 Comments

Experience and Personal Practice

By The Midwife | Published: December 6, 2011

Personal experience always changes the way you practice in some way.  Anyone who denies this is probably not being 100% honest with themselves.  It’s the nature of us being human, and it’s inevitable because humans (as opposed to future robots?) provide health care, and by and large it’s a very good thing.  This can be […]

Also posted in Complications, Labor and Birth, Labor Support, Midwifery, Vaginal Birth | 1 Comment

Wax Study Revisited

By The Midwife | Published: October 9, 2011

Imagine the following scenario:  a meta-analysis comparing planned homebirths to planned hospital births is published, but it has so many statistical flaws in it that the journal which originally published it goes on to print several letters to the Editor critiquing the flawed research, in order to give the authors a second chance to explain […]

Also posted in Choice, Complications, Homebirth, Issues, Labor and Birth, Midwifery, Politics, Research | 1 Comment

Back in the saddle again!

By The Midwife | Published: September 13, 2011

Friday was my first day back at work on L&D.  I was a little bit nervous about it.  Not that I have forgotten anything or lost my skills over maternity leave, but only that my life had slowed down to match my baby’s pace, and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep […]

Also posted in Complications, Labor and Birth, Vaginal Birth | 2 Comments

Empowering Birth in the Trenches

By The Midwife | Published: September 5, 2011

Welcome to the Empowered Birth Week Blog Carnival This post is part of the Empowered Birth Week Blog Carnival hosted by Child of the Nature Isle and Betsy Dewey. For this special event the carnival participants have shared their perspective on Empowered Birth. Please read to the end to find a list of links to […]

Also posted in Epidurals, Labor and Birth, Labor Support, Vaginal Birth, VBAC | 7 Comments