By Hannah Dahlen Folic Acid is a Vitamin from the B group that is needed for healthy growth and development. While everyone needs Folic Acid it is especially important for women of childbearing age, particularly those planning a pregnancy. Folic Acid enables the healthy development of babies in early pregnancy. It significantly reduces the
Going overdue is never easy but going so overdue that you have to be induced can be traumatic for women. There is no doubt that nature is the best midwife when it comes to labour, and induction comes with its own risks. Not only is the labour associated with medical induction more painful but
By Justine Caines In the last 5 years working for Maternity Coalition I have worked tirelessly to help establish one-to-one midwifery care across Australia. I am passionate that women can choose a midwife in any setting, but especially at home as I have experienced the beauty of homebirth. I do not at see myself
An epidural anaesthetic is performed by a specialist doctor known as an anaesthetist. As revealed, epidural anaesthetic is where an injection of local anaesthetic (sometimes mixed with an opiate such as pethidine or fentanyl) is given into the epidural space (an area located around the spinal cord). Evidently, an epidural anaesthetic is given to
This information was first published in 2000 in the book Lotus Birth, and has been extensively updated and rewritten for 2009 and published in Sarah's book Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering available at www.sarahjbuckley.com Copyright Dr Sarah Buckley, 2000 The medical approach to pregnancy and birth has become so ingrained in our culture. We have
Nitrous Oxide (N20) is otherwise known as laughing gas. It is an anaesthetic gas that has been used since the beginning of the last century. It is commonly used during surgery and as a pain relief method during labour. A lot of people will have come in contact with Nitrous Oxide at their dentist.
Pethidine is a widely used drug for pain relief in labour. Pethidine is a similar drug to morphine and heroin. These three drugs are from a family of drugs known as opioids. Opioids basically are morphine-like drugs. Morphine is a natural drug that can be extracted from the opium poppy, whereas pethidine is synthetically
January 20, 2010 Media Release Women should be allowed to eat and drink what they want during labour, say Cochrane Researchers. The researchers carried out a systematic review of studies examining the traditional practice of restricting food and fluid intake during labour and found no evidence for any risk or benefit for women at
The medical model of childbirth is broken right to the core. When I was just getting started with this birthing thing I was pretty enthusiastic. I did a lot of reading. I wrote optimistic essays about birthing choices for my shockingly bad website. And I tried to be a doula, though I’m not sure
Love has long been the domain of poets, artists and philosophers, but it's only in the past 50 years that it has really begun to hold the attention of scientists. What they are discovering is startling. Oxytocin, now dubbed the "hormone of love", holds immense sway over the way we feel when we make
