Supporting the transition to parenthood: Development of a group health-promoting programme

High-quality perinatal care is of central importance to public health and the broader agenda for global health (ten Hoope-Bender et al, 2014) In antenatal care, the focal point has shifted from...

Mandatory reporting of female genital mutilation in children in the UK

Female genital mutilation (FGM), also referred to as ‘cutting’ (World Health Organization (WHO), 2018), has become an area of increasing concern in the UK and other developed countries due to...

Detection of breech presentation: Abdominal palpation and hand-held scanning by midwives

The ‘sign up to safety’ initiative (NHS Litigation Authority, 2016) was introduced in 2016 to support improvements in care, and to reduce the number of stillbirths, as part of the Royal College of...

Bilirubin in the newborn: Physiology and pathophysiology

Jaundice in the newborn is usually normal. It is caused by the breakdown of red blood cells, which, as a result of newborn transitional physiology, results in the build-up of bilirubin in the infant's...

Artificial gametes

First coined by the French philosopher Antoine Cournot, ‘the end of history’ is a phrase that was later popularised in the 1990s by the American political scientist Francis Fukuyama

Paying to be a midwife

Recruitment and retention of midwives can be problematic and is continually under scrutiny in the media (BBC, 2018; Royal College of Midwives (RCM), 2018) In an attempt to address this, the Chief...

A quiet revolution? It's not where you'd think

It's been a long time coming, but on 26 May in a so-called ‘quiet revolution’ (BBC, 2018), the Republic of Ireland voted to repeal the Eighth Amendment of its constitution, ending some of the...

The issue of consent

One memory of my former career as a police officer sticks with me: stood in a soft play with a college who gently touched the member of staff and explained, ‘if I touch you without your consent, then...

Flexibility for independent midwives

I first heard about UK Birth Centres Ltd's Professional Risk and Indemnity Scheme for Midwives (PRISM) when it launched in February, directly through Private Midwives The scheme is one-of-a-kind and...

Restorative supervision for student midwives: The professional midwifery advocate in the classroom

Embedding evidence-based practice within the pre-registration midwifery curriculum

Research and evidence-based midwifery practice are essential in order to drive the profession forward and deliver safe, effective, women-centred care Evidence-based practice is not a new concept, but...

Are women empowered to make decisions about the use of antidepressants in pregnancy?

Depression and anxiety are two of the most common health problems in pregnancy in the UK, affecting 12% and 13% of women, respectively (Heron et al, 2004; Gavin et al, 2005; Vesga-Lopez et al, 2008)...