Female pelvic shape: Distinct types or nebulous cloud?

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...

Pregnant women's reactions to routine CO monitoring in the antenatal clinic

Carbon monoxide (CO), a colourless, odourless and poisonous gas, is a waste product of cigarette smoking CO monitoring is an immediate and non-invasive method of determining smoking status (National...

Healing identity by telling childbirth stories on the internet

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...

Vaginal birth after caesarean or elective caesarean—What factors influence women's decisions?

Improving women's choice and control over their maternity care has been on the political agenda in the UK for over 20 years (Department of Health, 1993) An area where the issue of women's choice is...

‘What's it like being a male midwife?’

Early intervention programmes for mental health from the NSPCC: Part 2

Early interventions for antenatal mental health difficulties Midwives have a critical role to play in not only identifying women with mental health difficulties but also in referring them on to...

Giving every baby an equal chance

This report of perinatal deaths demonstrates once again that social economic determinants of health must be taken into account if we are to give every baby an equal chance, not only to survive but...

Stamping out inequality

New figures out last month reporting the small decline in the percentage of women smoking at the time of birth make for an encouraging read. The latest Statistics on Women's Smoking Status at Time of...

What is happening in Scotland?

It is really interesting to be celebrating the Centenary of the Midwives Act in Scotland in the same year as the Nursing and Midwifery Council are piloting its revalidation programme. There will be...

Book Review

The Roar Behind the Silence: Why kindness, compassion and respect matter in maternity care ...

Landmark case on negligence and consent

Is it negligent not to warn pregnant women of possible clinical risks? This question is at the heart of a recent court case, which has significant implications for practitioners, as it lends legal...

There's an app for that—but how do we know if it's a good one?

Mobile applications date back to the end of the 20th century and were typically novel additions to the core phone functions, such as a calculator or a small arcade game But from around 2007, when...

Public health: Breastfeeding battles

Breastfeeding is a worldwide public health issue, which has a major impact on reducing child mortality and several long-term non-communicable diseases, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer...

Does the timing of deinfibulation for women with type 3 female genital mutilation affect labour outcomes?

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a deeply-rooted practice, with culture and tradition given as the main reasons for its continuation (Momoh, 2003) FGM affects approximately 140 million women...

Do midwives see caesarean section wound care education as a need?

Despite recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) that the ideal rate for caesarean sections (CS) should be between 10 and 15%, the CS rate in the UK has not reduced in recent years and...