BIRTH
FIRST TIME MOTHERS
First time birthing women? What do you wish you’d known? ~ video
Pushing for First Time Mothers ~ Midwifery Today article
NATURAL BIRTH
Ecstatic Birth – Natures Hormonal Blueprint for Labour ~ Sarah Buckley MD ~ article
Undisturbed Birth ~ short video by Sarah Buckley MD
My Birth My Way ~ Australian website
Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond ~ Australian website
Natural Birth – Giving Birth Without Intervention ~ article
Giving Birth Naturally ~ American website
HOME BIRTH
Homebirth links and articles ~ Pregnancy Birth and Beyond website
Australian Homebirth Network ~ website
Homebirth UK ~ has extensive articles about all types of birth and women with different needs
Twin Homebirth ~ Australian article (includes discussion of risk and routine management of twins)
HOSPITAL BIRTH
Active Birth in the Hospital ~ Talk Birth blog
WATER BIRTH
Waterbirth International ~ website
Giving Birth In Water – The Benefits of Waterbirth ~ bellybelly.com article
Waterbirths in hospital setting ~ RANZCOG doc.
HYPNOBIRTH
About Hypnobirthing® ~ Australian webpage
Hypnobirthing – the Mongan Method – available from lending library
NATURAL THIRD STAGE OF LABOUR
Cord-Clamping.Com ~ website with information on third stage of labour, the baby’s transition, delayed and physiological cord clamping
Leaving Well Alone: A Natural Approach to the Third Stage of labour ~ Sarah Buckley article
Nuchal Cords (cord wrapped around neck) ~ Midwife Thinking blog
The Placenta: essential resuscitation equipment ~ Midwife Thinking blog
Holistic physiological care compared with active management of the third stage of labour for women at low risk of postpartum haemorrhage: A cohort study ~ Carolyn Hastie et al
Vaginal Birth After Caesarean (VBAC)
VBAC – Parent Information Sheet QLD
VBAC: making a mountain out of a molehill ~ Midwife Thinking blog
VBAC Facts ~ website
VBAC ~ MyBirth Australian website
VBAC- On Whose Terms? ~ www.caesarean.org.uk
CAESAREAN BIRTH
ICAN website ~ International Cesarean Awareness Network
Caesarean Birth – Making Informed Choices ~ Birthrites.org
Women of Size and Cesarean Sections: Tips for Avoiding Unnecessary Surgery
TWINS AND MULTIPLE BIRTH (link to new page)
LOTUS BIRTH
Lotus Birth Campaign ~ website
Common Questions About Umbilical Non-Severance - Lotus Birth Q&A Resource
EVIDENCE & RESEARCH
My Birth ~ Australian website with birth statistics
MATERNITY COALITION DOWNLOADS
Baby’s Transition to Life Outside the Womb
Maternity Coalition Information Sheets on key maternity topics – full list of Information Sheets can be found here
VIDEOS
Hospital birth
Hospital birth – mother active and upright with continual monitoring. Video shows close up footage of mother giving birth on hands and knees, baby caught by midwives and cord clamped approximately one minute after birth. Immediate skin contact followed by breastfeeding.
The Natural Caesarean: a woman-centred technique
Women are involved and able to see their baby being born, the baby is extracted slowly to help expel liquid from lungs, cord remains intact to help baby transition and establish healthy blood volume, parents get to see the sex of their baby, monitoring of the mother is done to keep her arms and chest free for embracing and skin contact with her baby.
Unassisted birth
Caesarean vs VBAC: A Dramatic Difference ~video made by American mother – warning, contains scenes of surgery
Well I had a caesarean birth only 2 mhotns ago, and in a lot of ways, it was a natural caesarean, but I was most interested to read the article and approach taken by the medico’s, towards trying to make caesareans more gentle. I didn’t expect to be in that situation EVER and had never read up about it, considering this was my 5th birth after 2 homebirths and 2 easy hospital births,but I almost wish I’d read this article before, as for me the most traumatic bit was hearing Balthazar, and knowing he was out, and not being able to see or touch him. And about the only thing I feel bad for him about, was being yanked out by his leg and shocked into life.But apart from that, by all accounts my caesarean was almost natural! I was incredibly greatfull to have a team of respectful folk in surgery, who paved the way for me to have as little intervention as I could in the circumstances. And as soon as our placenta was out, they popped it in a plastic bag and handed him straight to me, no examinations or anything else inbetween him and me coming together again. He buried his head in my neck straight away, and shielded his eyes with his hands, and I haven’t really let him go since.After having an unexpected caesarean, my judgements about it have drastically changed, and I’d love to hear more of a dialoge about how to do caesarean’s better, if that is the way it has to be for a mother and child.