This week Mel and B talk about exercising/moving during pregnancy and break down the myths and barriers to healthy movement in pregnancy.

To get access to B’s exercise courses go to www.coreandfloor.com

To get on the mailing list for this podcast go to www.melaniethemidwife.com where you’ll then get access to the resources we use to inform each podcast episode

In this episode Mel and B invited Professor Hannah Dahlen to talk about her research on induction of labour, we speak about post dates, bigger and smaller babies, the place of ultrasound and the risks and benefits of induction. This is particular important for first time birthing women.

Hannah speaks about a conversation article that is helpful to further understand her research, you can read this article at https://theconversation.com/too-many-healthy-women-are-having-their-labour-induced-for-no-identified-medical-reason-our-study-shows-161281

 If you would like to get access to the resources we use to create each podcast episode you can join our podcast mailing list at www.melaniethemidwife.com

After a big few previous episodes Mel and B have recorded this short and sweet little episode on consuming dates during pregnancy. Many women eat dates during the later stages of their pregnancy because they believe that it has an impact on labour outcomes. Mel and B look into the research on this, do dates make labour shorter? And will the recipes that Mel recommends be any good? You’ll have to listen to find out.

If you want access to the resources that we use to inform each episode, you’ll have to get on the podcast mailing list at www.melaniethemidwife.com and while you’re there, consider joining the assembly of rebellious midwives

This week Mel and B challenge the mainstream management of shoulder dystocia and break down the fear to give you simple strategies to prevent and manage shoulder dystocia. Midwives will receive specific tuition on how to manage a shoulder dystocia while favouring individualised diagnosis and selecting particular manoeuvres that will align with each unique circumstance.

To get on the mailing list for this podcast go to www.melaniethemidwife.com and you’ll receive a link that will take you through to the resource folders

If you are interested in joining the assembly of rebellious midwives, you’ll see a button at the top of the website www.melaniethemidwife.com to join the waiting list for when it opens

To learn more about Mel you can see her Instagram page @melaniethemidwife and B @coreandfloorrestore

This is the follow on from last weeks episode about ‘Small babies, big babies’ and this week we talk all about big babies, why they grow that way and how to navigate the consequences of being diagnosed with a ‘Big baby’. This is the one you’ve been waiting for.

If you would like to access the resources we use to create each podcast episode, sign up to the mailing list for this podcast at www.melaniethemidwife.com

If you are interested in learning more about the assembly of rebellious midwives you can also join the mailing list to find out more about that at www.melaniethemidwife.com

In this episode Mel and B start their 2 part series on ‘Small Babies, Big Babies’. In this episode they explore the accuracy of technologies that can help determine the size of a baby before it’s born, the factors that influence the size of your baby and the place of induction when your baby falls outside of the ‘normal’ size range’.

You can get on the mailing list for this podcast and access all the research papers that we use to inform our podcast topics at www.melaniethemidwife.com 

In this episode Mel and B draw on their collective 28 years as midwives and share what they have witnessed from great birth supporters. As birthing women ourselves and watching the good the bad and the ugly side of birth support, we bring you our top tips of how to be an amazing birth supporter. 

This is one for partners, mothers, doula's, midwives and anyone who has been invited into a birth space.

 To get on the mailing list for this podcast and receive all the resources that we use to research each episode please go to www.melaniethemidwife.com

In this weeks episode Mel is flying solo after a series of life events left Mel and B unable to connect in time to record together. Never mind! Mel reached into the research vault to bring you what she knows about the very sexy topic of gestational thrombocytopaenia (a.k.a low platelets during pregnancy). If you find yourself looking after someone with low platelets or you are one of the 15% of women who will experience this in pregnancy, then this little treat is for you.

To get on the mailing list for this podcast go to www.melaniethemidwife.com.

In this episode, Mel and B invited Dr Andrew Bissits (aka the breech whisperer) to talk about breech birth, breech birth options in Australia, the research about breech and inspiring news from abroad about how practitioners are becoming skilled in breech birth again.

To get on the mailing list for the podcast and to access the resource folders for each episode, visit www.melaniethemidwife.com

This episode is about Postpartum Haemorrhage we define what it is, how they can be prevented, management strategies and reflect on if we did a good job at it at all! Thanks for listening folks! At the time of airing episode 25 we’ve had 100 000 downloads of the great birth rebellion podcast.

To get on the mailing list for this podcast go to www.melaniethemidwife.com

In this episode, Mel and B discuss the placental birth and the 3 options you have to choose from when making plans for how you want to give birth to your placenta.

You can get on the mailing list for this podcast at www.melaniethemidwife.com to receive all of this resources we use to prepare for each podcast episode.

On this episode Mel and B welcome Dr Hazel Keedle (@hazelkeedle) and Amber-Lee Buendicho (@powerofbirth) to discuss the new research around Obstetric violence, Birth Trauma and healing strategies.

If you need help with Trauma recovery you may consider connecting with:

https://panda.org.au/articles/childbirth-trauma-and-recovery/

https://www.cope.org.au/preparing-for-birth/things-dont-go-plan/recovering-from-a-traumatic-birth/

If you are interested in B’s up coming birth debrief training you can reach out to her @coreandfloorrestore or through her website https://coreandfloor.com.au/

To join the mailing list for this podcast go to www.melaniethemidwife.com and you’ll get all the resources from this, and all previous episodes

We are back for another year of rebellion!

This is our first episode of the year and even though I (Mel) was on holidays during recording this one), B and Rhea steered the ship into grand waters!

 This weeks episode is all about Rhea Dempseys work in the birth space, her 2 phenomenal books, pain, bravery and how this all comes together with connection and attachment - it's the oxytocin story. 

To learn more about Rhea Dempsey go to her website

https://www.birthingwisdom.com.au/ 

where you can also buy both of her books!

and check her out on her socials @rheadempseybirth

To get on the mailing list for this podcast and receive all the resources from this and previous episodes go to www.melaniethemidwife.com and sign up on the home page

You can find out more about Mel @melaniethemidwife and B @coreandfloorrestore

In this episode (our last for 2022!) Mel and B discuss repair of perineal tears. We look into the research on the need to suture first and second degree tears and what would happen if they were left unsutured. We also look at strategies to speed up healing and reduce pain and swelling from perineal tears. This is our last episode for the year and we are taking a short break and will be back with more weekly episodes in late January 2023

You can get on the mailing list for this podcast on the front page at www.melaniethemidwife.com to get access to all the resources and research we use to create this podcast

Thankyou for your love, support and encouragement this year, it really keeps us going and motivated to provide you all with this free resource every week.

In the meantime you can follow us on Instagram @melaniethemidwife and @coreandfloorrestore 

In this episode Mel and B continue their conversation with Nigel Lee and pick his brain about sterile water injections, which (unlike the perineal bundle) as a substantial evidence base to support it’s use for the range of pains in labour. Sterile water injections are predominantly used for back pain in labour, is safe and only has one major downfall… but we would still totally recommend it!

You can get on the mailing list for this podcast at www.melaniethemidwife.com on the homepage if you want access to the research we use to create each episode

In this episode Mel and B invited Nigel Lee to discuss the perineal bundle, the research (or lack thereof!) behind it and all the reasons why we don't like it. 

To get access to all the resources/research we used to create this episode (and every previous episode), get on the podcast mailing list at www.melaniethemidwife.com 

In this episode B and Mel explore gestational diabetes testing and spend a lot of time picking part the details and research around the oral glucose tolerance test and the alternatives if you choose not to have this test. This is not an episode about gestational diabetes, but it is an episode about gestational diabetes screening and diagnosis. 

if you would like access to the resources and research used to create this episode, sign up to the mailing list at www.melaniethemidwife.com  

This week B is back (back again, B is back, tell a friend) and we are talking all about waterbirth, the safety, risks, mechanisms and how to access it. We look through the current research to help you as you make decisions on if you want to give birth in water or not, and if you are a midwife, how you can assist women to access this. 

To get access to the research we used for this podcast, get on the pocast mailing list at www.melaniethemidwife.com 

Today Mel invites ex-doula and now midwife Lucretia McCarthy to talk all things doula-ing. Mel asked the big questions like what makes a 'good' or 'bad' doula, we explored the impact of ego in the birth space and the complex interactions between doula's and other health care providers. We chat about if you can every REALLY be both doula and midwife and we look through the research on doula's and their impact on womens birth experiences and the maternity care system. 

To get access to the resources from this weeks episode sign up to the podcast mailing list at www.melaniethemidwife.com and you can meet Lucretia on instagram @birthinsight 

Also, B is back from her big few weeks away and will be back on board in the next episode :-) 

In this Episode, Mel speaks with Dr Sarah Buckley about what starts labour, the hormones of labour and how to protect them from interruption. We learn about the fundamental and essential needs of a woman in labour to promote labour physiology. Private, Safe and unobserved. Sarah also shared how to fill hormonal gaps when your labour process has been interrupted. Sarah is a GP and homebirth mumma of 4 babies with a research focus on the hormones of labour... but so much more!

To get on the mailing list for this podcast to receive all the resources we talk about in each episode go to www.melaniethemidwife.com 

you can find out more about Dr Sarah Buckley at www.sarahbuckley.com 

On this episode Mel and B discuss the research behind pushing out your baby, we discuss the difference between physiological/spontaneous pushing and coached/directed pushing and how one of them is more dangerous than the other for the mumma and babe. As always, we talk you through every detail and also bring up the importance of descent as part of the pushing phase. The research on this is pretty exciting (we think so anyway!)

To get on the mailing list for this podcast go to www.melaniethemidwife.com 

On this episode Catherine Bell comes on to talk all about birth mapping, it's not birth planning, it birth mapping - they are different! She has a stack of free resources to get you started and is in the process of doing a PhD on birth mapping. Come and have a listen and see if birth mapping is something that will help you have the birth experience you want. 

To get on the mailing list for this podcast go to www.melaniethemidwife.com 

To find out more about Catherine Bell go to @birthmapping  or check out her website www.birthmap.life 

Mel and B sit down with Dr Kirsten Small to discuss the research related to CTG use during birth and all the risks and benefits of this monitoring option. The use of CTG to monitor babies in labour is common practice and almost all women will be offered it during labour... but is it beneficial? Does it make birth safer for babies? or safer for women? or safer for your care provider? 

Check out Kirstens work @birthsmalltalk on instagram and twitter and www.birthsmalltalk.com 

If you want to get on the mailing list to receive resources from each episode, join the podcast mailing list at www.melaniethemidwife.com 

The stages of labour are the stupidest invention medicine has ever created... we'll explain why stages of labour and the obsession with labour progress is the undoing of how we as midwives understand birth and how women experience it. We are advocating for the abolishment of labour stages!

If you want to get on the mailing list for the podcast to get access to all the resources we use to inform each episode, join the mailing list at www.melaniethemidwife.com you can also find out more about the launch yourself into private practice mentorship at www.melaniethemidwife.com. Enrolments for the mentorship open next week oct 24th and close October 28th 2022. 

In this episode B and I talk about the place and purpose of vaginal examinations during pregnancy and birth. Almost all birthing women will be offered vaginal examinations but the research doesn't support routine vaginal examinations. Most women are offered vaginal examinations for the benefit of the system and not for themselves or their babies.

Get on the mailing list at www.melaniethemidwife.com 

If you are interested in the assembly of rebellious midwives or hearing more about the mentorship program for private midwives all of this information can be found at www.melaniethemidwife.com

Check us out @melaniethemidwife and @coreandfloorrestore on instagram for more juicy evidence based information

In this episode we speak directly to people wanting to become midwives, midwifery students, newly graduated midwives and the midwives helping to raise to midwives. This is also super handy for anyone wanting to understand the system using some of our insider knowledge. We  put out a call out to rebellious midwives working in the system; midwives who see it's flaws and are trying to rise above them and care for women and themselves as best they can. We discuss strategies for surviving (and hopefully) thriving in the system by applying self care strategies, ways to defuse bullies and encourage you to find your people. If you are wondering how to survive the system, this is for you. 

If you are ready to join the assembly of rebellious midwives go to www.melaniethemidwife.com and follow the prompts. At www.melaniethemidwife.com you can also join the mailing list through the form on the home page. 

B couldn't be with us today, so in this episode Mel talks with Aimee Aroha (a.k.a @ripsnorter) about giving birth at home along the full spectrum from freebirth to homebirth. We discuss the research about homebirth, freebirthing culture and what it means to be fully autonomous and liberated at and by your birth wherever you choose to birth. We discuss authoritative knowledge about birth and why decolonising and demedicalising birth is a rebellious act in a society that values making birth medical.

In this episode we invited Dr Hazel Keedle to discuss birth after caesarean. We dispelled the myth of 'once a caesarean always a caesarean', discussed the risks and benefits of planning a vaginal birth vs repeat caesarean and talked about the best things women can do to set themselves up from the beginning to have the birth experience they hoped for when planning their next birth after caesarean. As always, there is a butt load of evidence to support our discussion and B adds a new word to the 'b-ism' dictionary... bone hole... the bones where your baby comes out from... your bone hole. You'll also get a chance to win Hazels new book, 'birth after caesarean'.  

You can join our mailing list at www.melaniethemidwife.com 

In this episode Mel and B lay out information about group B strep (GBS) and the GBS swab in pregnancy. We discuss why it is a bacteria found normally in 20% of the female population, the difference between colonisation and infection, the risks during, pregnancy, birth and the first week of your babies life. We talk about how it's accidentally discovered, what the usual treatment is and if this is even needed. As usual, it's information, but rebellious. We dare you to make an informed decision about what you'll do about GBS after hearing this episode. 

In this episode B prepared a pelvic bowl full of information about how to prepare your body for pregnancy and birth, instead we got stuck at the very beginning on the clitoris, the right way to poo, the importance of regular organisms to prepare for birth and the function of your skenes glands in sex and birth. We both learnt more about our bodies and ourselves than we thought, and we think you will too. After hearing this episode you won't ever think of sex, orgasms, birth or your cervix the same ever again. You're welcome. 

We are ALL about sharing evidence-based information. That is, information that comes out of actual research papers. This week, along with our guest Prof. Hannah Dahlen, Mel and B talk about how anyone (maternity care providers, women, families, birth workers, etc) can find good quality research without having to pay for it. We give secret hacks about getting access to research papers that might help you better negotiate your care options and we discuss how to interpret and use it once you've found it. As a bonus, Hannah breaks down the ARRIVE trial to help us understand why it is a useless research paper in the real world when deciding if induction of labour is right for you. To get access to research papers and databases mentioned in this podcast, get on the podcast mailing list at www.melaniethemidwife.com

Fact check on this episode - we mentioned that midwives and health professionals have poor access to research, we have since learnt that publicly employed staff have access to a database through the government - however it's not 'everything' like a university database. But it is more than nothing. Midwives, if you are still employed, you have access! go git it :-)  

Due dates - this week we talk about due dates, how they are calculated, how the timing of pregnancy has been medicalised, the shortfalls of 'estimated due dates' and the importance of knowing your due date in a world where 'post-dates' pregnancy is taboo. We also discuss how women who go beyond 41 weeks of pregnancy are 'cared for' by the system and navigate the pressure that women feel to have an induction of labour. We learn about the history of full term pregnancy and catch the bloopers at the end where Mel educates B on a few farm facts about animals and their due dates. Remember, its an 'estimated' due date, because babies come when they want to ;-)

If you want to get on the mailing list head over to www.melaniethemidwife.com 

We discuss the medicalisation spectrum... if you don't know what that is then this episode is for you. We discuss the spectrum of physiological philosophy and along the spectrum to biomedical philosophy and how to match your philosophy with the choices you make of care provider and birth location. We dig deep into the research about the safety of birth and the lies we are told about the dangers of birth. We put forth an argument for why we should all be rebelling from the authoritative story about birth because it's a big fat lie.

Welcome to our introductory episode to the great rebellion podcast, Meet Dr Melanie Jackson and her co host B for this first episode where you can learn about them, and why they are worth listening to.