This website is intended for healthcare professionals
This website is intended for healthcare professionals
Homebirth rates in England have been persistently low for more than 5 decades, with just 23% of women giving birth at home in 2013 (Office for National Statistics, 2014)
Social adversity and poor maternal mental health during pregnancy can have long-term adverse effects on children's health, social, educational and economic outcomes (O'Connor et al, 2002; Olivier et...
Stillbirth rates in the UK have consistently been among the highest in Europe (Flenady et al, 2011) One contributory factor may be the heterogeneity of the UK population, including the raised...
Perinatal depression has been defined as encompassing ‘major and minor depressive episodes that occur either during pregnancy or within the first 12 months after delivery’ (Gavin et al, 2005: 1071),...
Early pushing urge (EPU) is defined as the perception of the irresistible urge to push by the labouring woman before full cervical dilatation, confirmed by vaginal examination Although different...
In the UK 85% of vaginal deliveries will result in a woman sustaining some degree of perineal trauma, of which two thirds will require suturing (Bick et al, 2010) Simple perineal trauma is classified...
Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (also known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA) is a growing problem throughout the world, and although originally associated with...
The ability to safely and effectively vaccinate in pregnancy offers important protection to both pregnant women and their babies in utero and from birth against potentially serious infectious diseases...
There is no agreed definition on what fear of birth (FoB) is, largely due to the differences in its diagnostic testing (Haines et al, 2011) However, Areskog (1982: 263) defined severe FoB in women who...
For well over 50 years, students of midwifery, obstetrics, gynaecology and related professions have been taught the Caldwell-Moloy classification of the female pelvis While recognising variation and...
In the UK, the majority of maternity care is provided through obstetric units (OUs) (accounting for approximately 93% of births)
Childbirth is challenging and while there is a reliance on experts such as midwives and doctors to provide education in the rules for birth (Cheyney, 2011), informal sources of information regarding...
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