MIDWIFERY
Fetal heart rate monitoring in labour
Introduction Fetal heart monitoring, whether intermittent or continuous, is performed with the intent of assessing the well-being of the fetus and detecting the few who are hypoxic. Continuous electronic fetal…
Vaginal birth after caesarean section
Introduction ‘An evaluation of differences between maternity units that had low CS and those that had higher rates revealed an important attitudinal factor was a belief and pride in a…
Assisted birth: ventouse and forceps
Introduction With good labour support, most women will experience a spontaneous vaginal delivery. Some women, however, for a variety of reasons, will not. For those women the options are either…
Examination of the newborn baby at birth
Introduction The newborn check, which involves a thorough examination of the baby, is performed in the first few hours after birth and, with experience, is generally quite quick to perform….
Water for labour and birth
Introduction Labour and/or birth in water can be a wonderfully relaxing experience for a mother and baby. Deep-water immersion in labour became popular in the 1970s. When women relaxing in…
Home birth
Introduction There is no place like home. A home birth can be a deeply personal fulfilling experience for the woman, her partner and family. Until recent years home birth was…
Malpositions of the Occiput and Malpresentations
Chapter 21 Malpositions of the Occiput and Malpresentations Occipitoposterior positions Occipitoposterior positions are the most common type of malposition of the occiput and occur in approximately 10% of labours. A…
