Birth Small Talk

Talking about birth

Does CTG monitoring make labour slower?

There is no doubt that standard “wired” CTG monitoring restricts mobility during labour and favours recumbent positions on the bed during labour (Watson, et al., 2022). I often hear people say that this leads to longer labours, contributing to the rise in caesarean section rate seen with CTG monitoring. This post explores the evidence for this from randomised controlled trials comparing intermittent auscultation with continuous CTG monitoring in labour. Labour […]

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I’m taking a break

I’m in the midst of a house move at present. It’s also that time of the year when I like to slow down and reevaluate and set intentions for the next year. So I’m taking a break from publishing new content. You will still see me popping up a recycled post each week on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Mastodon (yay for scheduling software!). I’ll be back on deck at the […]

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What about CTG monitoring for VBAC?

One of the questions I am often asked about is what research says is the best approach to fetal heart rate monitoring for a woman who has previously had one (or possibly more) caesarean births in the past and plans a vaginal birth this time around. There is no simple answer to this question, so it is one I have avoided writing about. Up until now. A new piece of […]

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It’s time for a change

A quick update ahead of tomorrow’s planned content…. Twitter seems to have gone to hell in a hand basket. I’ve made the decision to no longer participate in that particular flavour of nonsense. My posts will still automatically be posted to to Twitter each time I publish one, but I won’t be joining in the conversation there any more. If you want to connect with me then you can find […]

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