Birth Small Talk

Fetal monitoring information you can trust

Reflections

My thoughts and ideas

Why I’m not on a guideline writing group

From time to time, I get feedback from people who are surprised / disappointed / angry / annoyed that I’m not a member of a guideline writing group taking on fetal monitoring guidelines. It is true – I’m not. It seems like a reasonable thing to expect me to do, right? I’m across the evidence and I often write about what is wrong with existing guidelines. Why would I not […]

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Barbie’s friend Midge: What does she tell us about feminism?

I’ve only just recently been to see the Barbie movie. It was fun, pink, sparkly, with a beautifully realised portrayal of Barbie Land, and excellent music. My daughter and I watched it in a middle of the day, middle of the week sitting and had the luxury of having the entire cinema to ourselves with the exception of one other woman. Very handy when you might end up singing along! […]

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Doctor Who and changing the future

Don’t change the future! I quite like watching Doctor Who. One of the common threads in the show involves the Doctor warning their companions not to meddle with the present (our past) in a way that might alter the future (our present). Of course, what inevitably happens is the Doctor and companions end up being compelled take action to ensure that everyone arrives at the end of the episode happy […]

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Plans, preferences, maps: Getting the birth you want

I have a love-hate relationship with birth plans (by any name). Progressive standardisation of care means a woman entering maternity care systems risk being swept along with the current, her body being used to meet the organisation’s goals and priorities, not her own. Women who dare to hope for something different might be told they have “unrealistic expectations of the control they will have over the experience”, as the New […]

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