Ready Mum Labour and Birth Preparation

Inuit woman nursing her twins
Alaska
early 1900s

Whenever you're offered a medical test, take a moment to consider what will happen with the information gained from it.

Is this something you're happy with?

Could a particular result limit your options in any way?

If a screening test shows that you are carrying group B strep bacteria, have gestational diabetes or have a higher-than-average BMI, for instance, you might be told that you can't birth where you wanted to.

What are the alternatives?

There are always alternatives, including declining the test, or seeking care elsewhere.

Always remember it's your decision. You can say 'yes' or 'no' or 'I need time to think about this.'

And although not everybody realises this, you don't have to have those screening tests in the first place if you don't want them.

If you'd like to know more, or to better understand some of the wider issues around making decisions in pregnancy and childbirth, take a look at my book, "What's Right For Me? Making decisions in pregnancy and childbirth."

It was written to help women, parents and families to better understand how modern maternity care works and how you can make the decisions that are right for you.

More information at www.sarawickham.com/me

In modern Western culture, most women and families know about induction of labour before they even become pregnant.

They know that induction is suggested when it is felt that it would be safer for the baby to be born than to stay inside its mother.

Many people also know that one of the main reasons for recommending induction of labour is because pregnancy has lasted for a certain number of weeks and the baby is perceived to be ‘overdue.’

Other reasons for offering induction include that the woman is older than average, that her waters have broken early and/or that she has a health problem or condition.

These days, induction is often suggested where someone has a high BMI, or has been told they have gestational diabetes.

But aren't necessarily evidence-based practices, as I write about in my books.

And there's a big focus these days on telling women when they are deemed to be 'at higher risk,' but not so much on explaining the downsides and risks of interventions like induction.

There are pros and cons to everything!

Some people think induction is oversold.

Some are concerned about how a lot of the 'official' information is geared to promoting induction and doesn't give the bigger picture.

There are many other aspects to the induction decision. That's one of the reasons that I wrote my book, In Your Own Time.

If you'd like to know more, I have a popular blog post which helps explain that bigger picture.

My blog post is called 'Ten things I wish every woman knew about induction of labour.'

I've just updated it, and I hope you find it useful.

It's at https://www.sarawickham.com/articles-2/induction-of-labour/

"You can control people when you have fear." Dr. Fischbein on why childbirth is so feared #dailyshow

When you birth not just one little human naturally but TWO!!! What a superstar!!! 💪✨

Image by IAPBP member from Brisbane, QLD Australia.

What do you think when you look at this piece?

In Celebration of the OP Baby Updated: October 2023 How many times have you heard “I had to have an epidural/c-section/ventouse/etc. because my baby was facing the wrong way”? An occipito posterior (OP) position occ…

We see more comments, queries and concerns about induction of labour than about any other single pregnancy and birth-related topic.

It's too hard to put everything that women and their families need to know in one post (which is why I have written two books about this!)

But here are some of the key facts.

Induction of labour is absolutely the right decision for some women, and absolutely not the right decision for others.

Some women are delighted that they had their labour induced, and some women regret this decision for decades.

It is for those reasons that we encourage anybody who might be affected by this to get lots of information about induction of labour or any other birth intervention before making a decision.

The mass media is not a good source of information about birth. Newspapers spin stories to make headlines and often fail to discuss the nuances and complexities of the issues.

Like many of my colleagues, my primary concern is that people who need to make such decisions can get good information from a credible source and make the decision that is right for them.

That’s why I’ve written two books about this. They have both helped tens of thousands of women and families make the decisions that are right for them.

I also have more than twenty articles and blog posts to help you understand the issues a bit better.,

Loads more info at www.sarawickham.com/iol

I hope it helps.

Yes, you can share this post as long as you keep the pic, text and credit intact. Please do not put my work/words into your branding.

Australian Birth Study Childbirth is a powerful experience. Researchers at the University of Sydney are examining childbirth experiences and the relationship between mothers and their babies (aged 4-6 months). We invite you to participate in this important research, which we are conducting via zoom.

"Modern culture seeks to eradicate any uncomfortable emotion, sensation or experience. We attempt to control any experience that is dark, risky and chaotic in an attempt to create a sense of certainty."
https://www.rachelreed.website/rcrp

A more accurate representation of birth and the muscles working together

NOVA Birth Services Did you know labor is less about your cervix opening and more about the thickness and contracting power of the uterus moving baby down and out? READ more about what empowering birth expert Carla...

From within, all things are possible.

Inuit woman nursing her twins
Alaska
early 1900s

That's probably how it looks inside your belly while pregnant.....

Uuuuh the struggle is real..... Everything grows rounder and wider and weirder.

“Don't underestimate the power of a carefully chosen birth team. Choosing the right people that you connect with, that can hold space for you, support you, love you and empower you throughout your birthing journey is so very important. Please don't skim over this part of your birth plan. Your birth team can be detrimental to the way you bring your baby earth side.”

Words and image by IAPBP member from Sydney, NSW Australia.

Repost
・・・

As babies get older and grow, we can sometimes realise that the position they're in needs adjusting to encourage a deep latch.
Usually, it's about going back to basics with pulling them right round towards their feet, and tucking them in super tight x

"There is growing recognition among clinicians of the limitations of using time alone to assess progress in cervical dilation in labor. There is wide variation in the patterns of dilation over time and most labors do not follow an average dilation curve." Yes! Eg see these diverse dilation curves from dozens of first-time labouring women! https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37164488/

From the Birth Time team... "There is currently a New South Wales Parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma - it's big - the first of its kind. Originally, only people from NSW could share and submit their story, but now everyone from WITHIN AUSTRALIA can send their birth trauma stories to the inquiry. This all needs to be done before August 15 - so this is an URGENT request to everyone.

No matter where you live, send your story about a traumatic birth you have experienced or witnessed - including obstetric violence - which means not just from obstetricians, but from any type of birth worker.It can be simply two sentences, an opinion or your experience or a story you know of.
The more birth trauma stories that are submitted the louder it will become for parliament to get the TRUE story.If the inquiry does not receive many stories and Submissions, it will show them that birth trauma is not a major problem and, therefore, it needs no recommendations for changes to prevent it. We know different. Our voices need to be heard. Please, if you have experienced a traumatic birth or know of anyone who has, submit your story before this Friday 11 August."
https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/listofcommittees/Pages/committee-details.aspx?pk=318

I also highly recommend the teams other great work, including the Birth Time docs and this recent recorded evening event about women's birth experiences in Australia https://www.birthtime.world/event-the-best-results

Earlier this week, a birthing pool company put out a post claiming that there are conditions one needs to meet to be able to use a birthing pool.

These conditions included that one needed to be low risk, and within pre-pregnancy BMI criteria.

In case we’ve not met, hello. I’m not a rival birth pool company. I’m an author and researcher with thirty years of midwifery experience, and a PhD. I write about pregnancy, risk, high BMI and the importance of informed decision making.

And I just wanted to set the record straight.

There are, in fact, only three conditions for being able to use a birthing pool.

1. You are birthing
2. You have access to a pool
3. You want to birth in the pool

Now, it’s true that access can sometimes be tricky.

If you decide to give birth in a facility such as a hospital or birth centre, for instance, there may not be a pool available for you to use.

That's one reason why some families hire, buy or borrow their own.

It’s also true that some facilities and care providers might try and restrict your use of a birth pool if you have risk factors, including higher BMI. (More on this in my upcoming book on Plus Size Pregnancy).

But these are not absolutes. There are plenty of exceptions.

We know many women who have used birth pools in hospitals and birth centres with a higher BMI and/or other supposed risk factors.

And no-one can stop you from doing what you want in your home.

These restrictive statements also aren’t evidence-based. More on this at www.sarawickham.com/water

And the bottom line is this: your body, your baby, your decision.

That’s why it’s good to do your research beforehand and ask lots of questions.

Please don’t let anyone else restrict your options. Not care providers, not your family, and certainly not birth pool companies.

For information on the benefits of water for birth which is based on actual evidence, see www.sarawickham.com/water

“All the eggs a woman will ever carry form in her ovaries while she is a four-month-old fetus in the womb of her mother.

This means our cellular life as an egg begins
in the womb of our grandmother.

Each of us spent five months in our
grandmother’s womb, and she in turn
formed in the womb of her grandmother.

We vibrate to the rhythm of our mother’s blood before she herself is born, and this pulse is the thread of blood that runs all the way back through the grandmothers to the first mother.”

💜 Layne Redmond, When the Drummers
Were Women
🎨 Amy Haderer, The Mandala Journey Birth
Amy Haderer, Artist - Mandala Journey

Study finds that pregnancy sits at the ‘absolute limits’ of human endurance A study has found that women go to the absolute limits of human endurance during the peak of their pregnancy, suggesting it really is as hard as women say it is.

This story shared screams the importance of understanding the pathways that may be presented in birth. Only in gathering knowledge can we truly make informed choices or know when we have a choice to make a choice. Empowerment is knowing.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=519251880161285&id=100062294334482

I remember how hard it was when I was TTC to speak to someone who understood what I was going through.

Not just oh yeah that must be hard but who really got how I felt.

There were times I needed that.

Like when I had to make a call to book in to a natural fertility specialist, when we inched closer to two years of trying and still waited.

When I went to the fertility specialist.

Or when I got my period again.

Or when I had a loss.

Or when friends were getting pregnant with the second babies, or third.

Or I got asked if I was pregnant again, cause I might of been a little bloated that day.... by the lady who had spent months telling me how hard it was when she was trying decades before and people kept asking her if she was pregnant...how she hated that....🥴

Or when it was a Tuesday.

Or cause it was all getting overwhelming...

Those days....

We have a facebook community. Perfect for those days you want to share something.

What went right, or not so right.

A place to receive advice on restoring your wellbeing to improve your fertility. A place to receive encouragement and hope.
A place where you can come in, sit down and just be.

Come and join us.

www.facebook.com/groups/FertilityTLC