Obesity in pregnancy

As the world changes, new pandemics come to light, stress increases, anxiety skyrockets, and in order to combat all of that fear, many develop certain ways to cope Some take exercise, some find...

The Poole approach to a smoke-free pregnancy

Targeted and personal support for pregnant women to stop smoking as early as possible in pregnancy is an important intervention to optimise the health of both unborn babies and their mothers, and for...

Importance of vitamin D during the antenatal period for maternal well-being

The best source of vitamin D is exposure to natural sunlight and 90% of vitamin D is derived from sunlight with 10% derived from food and plant sources (Paxton et al, 2013; Cannell, 2019)...

‘Please treat me like a person’—respectful care during adolescent childbirth

The risk factors, health implications and socio-economic repercussions of adolescent pregnancy and early childbearing is widely covered in literature The World Health Organization ([WHO], 2018a) and...

Against the grain: midwives' experiences of facilitating home birth outside of guidelines

Historically, childbearing women were generally young and healthy, yet societal changes and fertility treatments have meant women who are older or with pre-existing conditions becoming pregnant have...

Supporting childbearing women who are at risk of having their baby removed at birth

Applications for babies to be taken in to care at birth are at a national high. This results in significantly impaired life outcomes. A cycle of maltreatment model is presented. Social stigma,...

The Modern Midwife's Guide to Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond

From graduation to practice

Induction with your trust usually happens within the first couple of days of starting

Support—from a distance

Remember the late preterm neonate

In the first of a series of articles exploring neonatal topics relevant to the midwife, I'd like to start with the often overlooked late preterm (LP) neonate As a midwifery lecturer, and occasional...

In a time of uncertainty

At this unprecedented time in the world, I wanted to write a few words of encouragement, support, praise and thanks At the time of writing, I am aware that cirumstances and statistics will have...

What's next after graduation?

‘The world is your oyster, my girl’-these are the wise old words my grandmother said to me when I told her that I'd passed my midwifery degree Reflecting back on that time, I wish I had really...

Making masks for maternity staff

Reports about significant shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) for midwives, nurses, doctors and healthcare support staff working for the NHS and worldwide during the COVID-19 crisis...

Educating women and girls on female genital mutilation

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a global healthcare problem affecting an estimated 200 million women and girls worldwide (World Health Organization, 2020) It is defined as ‘all procedures that...

Midwives in the midst of COVID-19

The world has become connected and united through a global pandemic that has drastically changed the normal way of life The coronavirus, formally known as COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2, is a virus that...