One Mother to Another

The NSW Birth Trauma enquiry elicited responses from thousands of women across Australia. Whilst it is promising to see NSW committing to continuity of care and other basics, like respecting women's choices, I do have some concern that a focus on 'informed consent' may manifest as coercion wrapped in compassion. Time will tell.

The article links to the final report, if you'd like a read.

"The final report, delivered in May, called for urgent efforts to address avoidable lack of continuity of care, lack of trauma-informed practices, inadequate antenatal education, inadequate informed consent practices, a lack of respect for women’s birthing choices and experiences, and a lack of inclusivity and culturally appropriate services."

NSW health minister apologises to women failed by maternity care after birth trauma inquiry Ryan Park pledges to fast-track a number of initiatives, including to improve access to continuity of care and ensure informed consent

If you've read the research on CTG and would like to know what other options there are, check out this post by Dr Kristen Small - it's all about intermittent auscultation. 👇

What is intermittent auscultation? Back to basics: What is intermittent auscultation and how is it done?

Check out that Rhombus of Michaelis! It's doing its thang cos it is has room to move. 👌

This is a great visual to demonstrate how being on your back impedes your body's natural ability to open your pelvis.

The Rhombus of Michaelis - Dr Sara Wickham Sara Wickham and Jean Sutton describe the Rhombus of Michaelis, an area of bone which plays an important role in labour and birth.

This is a great opportunity to share your experience of maternity care. Please feel free to also share this within your networks.

"Do women in Australia receive maternity care safely and respectfully with access to appropriate services of their choice? If you have received all your maternity care in Australia for at least one baby since 1 January 2020 we are keen to hear about your experiences. Access the survey in the link below to let us know. Deakin University ethics approval (HEAG 2022-217)."

Do women in Australia receive maternity care safely and respectfully with access to appropriate services of their choice? If you have received all your maternity care in Australia for at least one baby since 1 January 2020 we are keen to hear about your experiences. Access the survey in the link below to let us know. Deakin University ethics approval (HEAG 2022-217).
https://researchsurveys.deakin.edu.au/jfe/form/SV_1RCynNQ2PUVGWOi

Back when we used to meet as part of CARES, a local peer-led group which supported women to plan next births after Caesarean (and all this glorious journey entails!), we used to acknowledge National Caesarean Awareness Day by bringing out the 'purple hearts'.

💜 These hearts were made from purple card and hand decorated by the women of CARES as a way to document the births of their Caesarean babies.

💜 Initially, the hearts were displayed on sticks in the grass. However, as time went on, these were then strung together as a complete and connected set of shared experiences of Caesarean birth.

💜 Of course, these hearts also represented the deeply personal experiences of each woman whose Caesarean was captured by a purple heart.

🌸 Whilst our upcoming Sunday, 5 February Re:Meet Adelaide Birth Community event is open to everyone in the community with an interest in birth, informed decision making and personal empowerment, our guest speaker, Hazel Keedle PhD VBAC researcher, literally wrote the book on 'Birth After Caesarean: Your Journey to A Better Birth'.

As such, it is a wonderful honour to be able to offer attendees a beautiful, handmade purple heart memento brooch to take home with them as they reflect upon Hazel's research and insights into Caesarean birth, VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Caesarean), and how we can support normal birth... Whether as consumers or healthcare providers.

By the way, this exclusive keepsake is made possible by the support of our wonderful event sponsors:

🌟 Ros McDonough, Hello Baby Midwifery
🌟 Sarah Gunn, GOGO events
🌸 Wendy Langshaw, + Motion physiotherapy https://www.facebook.com/EnergyandMotion/
🌸 Kelly Harper, Elemental Beginnings • Adelaide Doula
🌱 Wendy Parmenter, Modern Birthing Doula Services

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🌸Got a chance to take Katrina Zaslavsky's book out for a coffee at Tell Henry this afternoon.

As a book which has inspired - and continues to inspire - many, many women to plan empowering births over the past 12 years, the aesthetic (and delish!) coffee and cake pictured here are worthy companions. 😁

P.S. Katrina has kindly donated this signed copy as a door prize for one lucky attendee at our upcoming Re:Meet Adelaide Birth Community event. We appreciate your support!🌸

MORE 👇

If you're not yet familiar with Dr Sarah Buckley's work, it's worth looking for podcasts etc. on her 'hormonal blueprint' research.

This will help you to understand the types of conditions which support normal labour and birth, and how each hormone is responsible for a different part of this picture.

🌸 Here's one to get you started!
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/s2-ep43-dr-sarah-buckley-gp-author-hormonal-blueprint/id1526987049?i=1000525791437

P.S. You can access updated versions of Sarah's hormonal blueprint article (and more) by signing up to her mailing list here: https://sarahbuckley.com/subscribe-to-sarahs-updates

Subscribe to Sarah’s Updates – Dr Sarah Buckley No Description.

How lucky we are to have to offering your services, Elemental Beginnings • Adelaide Doula . 🌸

🌟Warriors🌟

Some clients just leave you in tears of awe. I am writing up all of Lea's story that she has shared on my blog, but for now, I wanted to share this part with you all.

"nothing turned out as expected but having Kelly around to support me during a long and traumatic birth was amazing.

She held my hand the whole time, encouraging me and telling me I was strong and I could do it. I remember looking at her while I was pushing, trying so hard to get my baby out, and feeling her calm energy, making me feel safe and heard.

What I am the most grateful for is that she stepped in when the doctor was about to give me an episiotomy (without asking for consent) before trying forceps. I remember the doctor not being happy about it but they ended up not doing it and since I had a c-section shortly after, I will be forever grateful for Kelly's intervention that saved my va**na!!

My husband or I would have never been able to advocate for me considering the state of stress we were in at the time."

It is grossly unfair to expect anyone to fully comprehend what is happening around them when they are exhausted, overwhelmed and stressed. Let alone be able to advocate for themselves when they may feel vulnerable or frightened with the power dynamics that can happen in hospitals 💙

As a doula it is my job to ensure you understand what is happening as much as possible and that you have had the opportunity to make your own decisions about your child's birth.