There’s something I’ve been wondering for a long while, and it is to do with the way we talk about caesareans. I know I’m not the only person who wonders it, because I’ve heard other people say similar things, but it needs discussing, and getting out into the open. What I’m wondering is this: In what state does a baby need to be born by caesarean in order for people to say, “Oh, maybe we shouldn’t have done that caesarean. Perhaps that baby should have been born physiologically?” Because when a baby is born in less-than-optimal condition by caesarean, people say, “Wow, it was a good job w ..read more

Almost every pregnant woman in the western world is given an estimated due date. This is usually the date on which her pregnancy will be deemed to have reached 40 weeks in length. But due dates are more problematic than many people realise. What’s the problem? We know from research studies that only 4% of babies will be born on their estimated due date. Many people have noted that our methods of calculating estimated due dates are crude. We also have good evidence that there is significant individual variation in the length of healthy human pregnancy. Despite all of this evidence, which s ..read more

My friend Magella was very excited about the impending arrival of her new chicks. She checked on the mums-to-be several times a day, and visited often as the babies began to hatch. But on one visit, Magella was dismayed to find that one of the mother hens had pushed another off her nest. Some of the displaced hen’s day-old babies had fallen down between the hay bales. Their mother hadn’t been sitting on them so they had become cold. They weren’t moving, and Magella was worried that they had perished. As she yelled for her husband to come and help, Magella began to scoop the chicks out fro ..read more

This post is a collection of links to articles and plus size pregnancy resources on this website. I’m a researcher, and author of the book Plus Size Pregnancy: what the evidence really says about higher BMI and birth. And I researched this topic, wrote my book and created this page in the hope of bringing a bit of balance to the conversations in this area. How I can help you If you’re here, maybe you have been told (or already know) that you have a high BMI. You might also have been told that this means you will be offered extra tests, interventions, scans and appointments during pregnanc ..read more

An increasing number of women are being told that, because they are ‘at risk’ or ‘high risk’, they are ineligible to give birth at state-run, out-of-hospital birthing centres, also known in some areas as midwifery-led units. There are several reasons why such policies are problematic. Perhaps the most important is that women are being denied access to the very places that could help reduce their chance of adverse events during labour and birth. In this blog post, I explain what the problem is, and why such policies are illogical. A few important caveats Let’s clarify a few things first ..read more

An induction crisis is occurring in the UK, and many other countries. Increasing numbers of women are being told that their labour needs to be induced. In most cases, this isn’t because they have an actual medical problem (such as serious pre-eclampsia), but because they have a risk factor, such as being older, having a higher BMI, having a suspected large baby, having conceived by IVF, or being pregnant for more than a few days after their ‘estimated due date’. Women often report that, if they express concern or try to decline induction, they encounter coercion, with staff telling them that ..read more

Dear Midwifery Student, I am sharing this with you in reply to your request for advice or words of wisdom on your journey. I hope you will understand when you realise that I have shared this with others before you. I would far rather send you a shared response than no response. It is my hope that it might also give you hope to know that you’re not alone. Many others have sent a similar message out into the Universe, and most of them are now qualified midwives. I understand how painful, difficult, tiring, challenging and heart-wrenching midwifery education can be. You are expected to cope with ..read more

Women with a higher BMI are very likely to be told that they need to undergo induction of labour. But many do not want this, and the number of queries that we receive about induction of labour for larger women has increased in the past few years. And, as I researched and wrote In Your Own Time and my Plus Size Pregnancy book, I looked at the evidence in this area in more depth. I’m going to offer an overview of some of the key issues in this blog post. Please see either In Your Own Time or my Plus Size Pregnancy book for a readable discussion of the evidence on this and many other areas ..read more

Today, I’m sharing the recipe for an activity for anyone who wants to slow down, rest and/or ponder their options while getting in touch with their baby.  All of which are highly recommended! This is also a brilliant activity for birth education groups, baby showers, or anyone who wants to make a special gift for a friend. Over the years, I have made hundreds of fabric hearts for friends, colleagues, fundraisers and as surprise ‘thank you’ gifts for those who buy lots of our craft goodies. I’ve also taught many friends and colleagues how to make them, as this makes a lovely ..read more

As you might know, I love to tell you about books written by other people that I think are worth reading. This blog post contains many of the book reviews that I have written over the years, details of books that I have been involved with but haven’t authored, and links to some of my favourite birth and midwifery books. You can find out about my own books here. A quick note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links and any purchases made after visiting these links generate an affiliate fee (with no increased cost to the buyer) which goes directly towards the running costs of this we ..read more