Birthing Autonomy

Birthing Autonomy brings some balance to the difficult arguments that arise from debates about home births, and focuses on women’s views and their experiences of planning home births. It provides an in-depth exploration of how women make decisions about home births and what aspects matter most to them. Comparing how differently the pros and cons of home births are constructed and contemplated by mothers and by the medical profession, the book looks at how current obstetric thinking and practices can disempower and harm women emotionally and spiritually as well as physically. Written in an accessible style, this book is enlightening for student and practicing midwives and obstetricians, as well as researchers and students of nursing, medical sociology, health studies, gender studies, feminist practitioners and theorists. It will also be invaluable to expectant mothers who want to be more informed about the choices they are facing and the wider context within which their birth options are considered.

Birthing Autonomy: Women's Experiences of Planning Home Births

Edwards, Nadine

Reference

Routledge

In 1997 the Albany Midwifery Practice in Peckham, south London, negotiated a pioneering NHS contract with King's College Hospital Trust. The Albany model of midwifery care was loved and respected not only by those who experienced it first-hand, but also by the wider midwifery profession. Founded to serve one of the most disadvantaged populations in London, its innovative approach led to improved outcomes for mothers and their babies. Why, then, was the practice suddenly shut down in 2009? Although it was widely acknowledged that the Albany model offered gold-standard care, the hospital trust claimed that since March 2006 this care had been '~unsafe'. But both the data and the methodology used to condemn the practice were flawed, and the real reasons for the closure remained obscure. Despite extensive protests by mothers and families, midwives, and many high-profile supporters, the Albany was forced to close its doors and one of the midwives was subjected to a punitive investigation by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, which eventually found that there was no case to answer. Midwives and campaigners have long pushed for answers about what really happened to this flagship midwifery practice. In this damning assessment, based on years of careful research and interviews, the authors reveal how a hugely successful healthcare project was undermined and dismantled, to the detriment of mothers and babies, the wider community and the midwifery profession as a whole.As maternity services are scrutinised once more, and as the NHS struggles to implement its policy of continuity of midwifery care, this hard-hitting account of the fate of the Albany could not be more relevant or more timely.

Closure: How the flagship Albany Midwifery Practice, at the heart of its south London community, was demonised and dismantled

Biographies & Memoirs

Reed, Becky

Professionals & Academics

Pinter & Martin

Have you ever thought about how the placenta is born? Did you know that there are actually three different approaches to the birth of the placenta within maternity care? Are you aware that research has shown significant advantages to the baby in taking a slower approach, however the placenta is born. Or that there is plenty of evidence to support a more natural approach for healthy women who would prefer that?This book has been written to help women make decisions about the birth of their placenta. We examine the different options, detail the evidence relating to each and discuss the wider context in which these decisions are made. No matter what kind of birth you are hoping for, this book will help you understand the different options.Dr Nadine Edwards and Dr Sara Wickham are world renowned and respected researchers and writers who have a long-standing interest in the birth of the placenta and the evidence relating to this. This is a completely revised and updated edition of their popular book on this topic.

Birthing Your Placenta: the third stage of labour

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Wickham, Sara

Women's Health

Birthmoon Creations

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Books by Edwards, Nadine