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Summer Pregnancy - Keeping Your Cool
Another Australian summer is upon us, and if you are pregnant you are probably wondering, "How on Earth will I cope!"Here are some tips for Keeping Your Cool this summer:...
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Book Review: Birth Journeys
Click the image to go to the Birth Journeys website Birth Journeys - positive birth stories to encourage and inspireby Leonie MacDonald This, in my humble opinion, is THE BEST collection of birth...
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Book Review: Birth with Confidence
Catherine had the marvellous opportunity to hear Rhea Dempsey speak in 2013 as she launched this fabulous book. If you ever get a chance to hear her speak: grab it! In the meantime: read her book!...
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Miracle Babies
This Guest Post has been provided by Corinne Henderson.Corinne is the ACT Volunteer coordinator for Miracle Babies Foundation. This organisation provides support for families that have experienced...
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Birthing with The Ring of Fire
The BEST bit of advice I ever received before giving birth was an almost throw away comment about 'The Ring of Fire'.It didn't make much sense at the time, as I was expecting my first baby. And the...
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What about the cord?
One of the biggest questions surrounding birth is 'What about the cord?'Many people have a sense of urgency that the cord must be clamped and cut in a dramatic and special way. This is not the case....
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Delayed Cord Clamping
"Another thing very injurious to the child, is the tying and cutting of the navel string too soon; which should always be left till the child has not only repeatedly breathed but till all pulsation...
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Top Tips for Informed Birth Preparation
All the links included in this post will take you to other articles on this website. They will open in new windows, so that you can digest them one at a time, without losing this 'index'. This...
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Are you Prepared for an Unassisted Birth?
First and foremost: what is meant by 'Unassisted Birth'?Very simply, it means that there is no medical attendant. An Assisted Birth will have a midwife or doctor present, usually directing 'the...
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Five Reasons to Prepare for Unassisted Birth
Regular readers of 'Bellablog' are not strangers to my feelings about preparing for unassisted birth. Whilst the far majority of people plan an assisted birth for their primary pathway when creating a...
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International Day of the Midwife
Image Copyright © 2016 Catherine Bell, All Rights Reserved. Midwives support women as they prepare for birth, during birth and with their newborn.This year, the International Day of the Midwife is...
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Her Beauty and Her Terror...
beautiful and terrifying Can birth be both beautiful and terrifying?Is it possible to have a difficult and positive birth?Can you find birth hard, intense and awesome?We've all heard the 'horror...
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Maternal Assisted Caesarean
You have probably heard that 'all that matters is a healthy baby'. And you may have thought, "yes, of course!'. You have probably heard that you should 'leave your dignity at the door'.But then you...
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Book Review: Boobin’ All Day…Boobin’ All Night!
Boobin' All Day...Boobin' All Night! By Meg Nagle. Click the image to go to The Milk Meg website, where you can purchase the book. Meg Nagle is nothin' if not honest. Anyone who follows The Milk Meg...
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Elimination Communication - please don't let me shit in my pants
Team Work! Cloth or Disposable...that is the Question....or is it?When I was expecting my first, I weighed up this question. It seemed to be a decision about cost, environment and convenience. Then,...
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Standard Pregnancy Care
The maternity system provides ‘standard’ or ‘routine’ care. Standard care follows a set of assumptions. The focus is on numbers, measurables and averages. The process is designed to look for...
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The Birth of a Mother
This poem describes my first birth. It was published in 'Water Labour, Water Birth' by Annie Sprague.
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The Slippery Slope of Modern Birthing
Considering birth this way, you can see the concept of the cascade of intervention (though this scale is not about the cascade). This scale highlights that certain choices (hopefully informed) move us...
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To Birth Plan or Not to Birth Plan...a pastiche
To Birth Plan or not to Birth Plan – that is the Question:Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to sufferThe slings and arrows of obstetric fortuneOr to take arms against a sea of troubles,And by opposing...
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