The impact of traumatic hospital birthing experiences Every birth is unique, yet many women experience factory line care not personalised care. There is a vast difference between a natural birth and an assisted, not just in terms of the immediate physical outcome and recovery, but also in terms of my long term emotional and physical

The WHO Labour Care Guide The WHO Labour Care Guide is a new tool, which puts the WHO recommendations on intrapartum care into practice. It aims to improve every woman’s experience of childbirth, and to help ensure the health and well-being of women and their babies. It helps skilled health personnel to provide woman-centred, safe

Matrescence Becoming a mother is an identity shift, and one of the most significant physical and psychological changes a woman will ever experience. Giving birth to a new identity - mother - can be as demanding as giving birth to a baby. For most women, pregnancy and new motherhood is a joy — at least

Interventions to increase vaginal birth after caesarean section Despite evidence supporting the safety of vaginal birth after caesarean section (VBAC), rates are low in many countries. Rates of caesarean sections (CSs) are increasing, yet decreases in maternal and perinatal mortality are not seen when more than 10% of births in a population are by CS

Do you pay to go private? A study from Ireland contributes to a growing body of evidence supporting an association of increased obstetric intervention in women with private health care cover. This is already well reported, particularly in Australia. Women attending privately were more than twice as likely to have a pre-labour caesarean section; this

A Roadmap for Action WOMEN DELIVER has published a 17-country survey on gender equality. The study's findings offer a roadmap of priority actions that governments, the private sector, and civil society should focus on to accelerate progress on gender equality. What is of interest is how relevant the road map is the achieving responsive, sensitive

Post-birth skin-to-skin contact reduces up to 36% infant deaths March 31, 2016 Research from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Boston Children’s Hospital says that skin-to-skin contact may reduce deaths for infants with low birth weight. Low birth weight infants are particularly vulnerable during their first month of life so the researchers

Skin-to-skin contact after birth reduces stress levels for mothers March 31, 2016 The benefits of skin-to-skin contact for babies after birth have been well documented. But what about for mothers? After all, they, too, have been on quite a journey. New research to be presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition

Don't throw the birth plan out with the bath water August 05, 2016 This welcome article explores the concept of legal consent and the use of birth plans to inform the consent process. The article reflects Safe Motherhood for All’s view of consent.  A woman always has a right to informed consent and the right of refusal