Cover Page

 

 

‘Highly recommended for midwives and student midwives in their final year. Includes all aspects of labour and birth including obstetric emergencies, how to suture (step by step and for left‐handers too), malpositions and presentations and lots more. Explains things in great detail but easy to understand.’

(Amazon review)

‘This intelligently laid out, well sourced and expertly written handbook would be a boon to any student or practising midwife. Comprehensive and accessible with a good index, this work of reference is an essential addition to the midwife’s library. I would certainly recommend it to my students.’

(Amazon review)

‘Looking back I wished I had this book during my SHO rotation through obstetrics in general and labour ward in particular. Although aimed at midwives, I think all doctors (foundation, GP and core trainees) rotating through labour ward will benefit from this book. It is very well written.’

(Amazon review)

The Midwife’s Labour and Birth Handbook

 

Fourth Edition

 

Edited by

Vicky Chapman

Derbyshire
UK

Cathy Charles

Wiltshire
UK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

logo.gif

Preface

image
image

We have been delighted at the success of The Midwife’s Labour and Birth Handbook, now in its fourth edition.

We have continued our collaboration in writing and editing a handbook for midwives and students. Our aim is to make the book easy to read and grounded in research (both anecdotal and quantitative), with a strong women‐centred perspective.

We have expanded our subject matter to include female genital mutilation, freebirthing, sepsis, the OASI Care Bundle and a new section on caring for women with diabetes.

This edition also includes new visual material. We now include photos of a footling breech and a breech waterbirth, in addition to the existing extended breech birth photos. Also a new range of stunning images capturing one woman’s journey through labour at home, to active birth in hospital and another series of photos of a beautiful waterbirth. Many thanks to all the parents who gave permission for use of their photos, including Brittany, Sue, Anna, Jacqui, Tor, Steve, Lisa, Mel and Aaron. Some of the twin and placenta photos are Vicky’s own, and even our commissioning editor Magenta donated a photo in Chapter 11. Special thanks to Lucy Pryor (www.angelfirephotography.co.uk) for our cover image, capturing her sister Mel and partner Aaron at the birth of baby Amelie and their fabulous midwife Samantha.

As this edition goes to publication we are mourning a major blow to independent midwifery. Without independent midwives, many of the photos in this edition – and many of the anecdotal and non‐hospital experiences from which as a profession we all learn, may in future no longer be available. Additionally, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is curtailing midwifery representation at the NMC and abolishing midwifery supervision. This is a historical low for midwifery in the UK and demand for an all‐midwifery body is more pressing than ever.

Many midwives today continue to give flexible individualised care to women in the face of increasingly prescriptive policies and protocols, with the spectre of investigation, risk and litigation always looming in the background. For all that, it is still deeply rewarding to care for women in labour and to try to offer them a safe and fulfilling birth. Our hope is that midwives everywhere maintain their joy in helping a woman to birth her baby, and are committed to ensuring that she has the best experience possible.

Once again we thank our great team of writers for their patience and hard work.

Cathy Charles and Vicky Chapman

Contributors

The editors

Vicky Chapman RGN, RM(Dip), MA

As a midwife Vicky has worked in a variety of hospital settings, and as a caseload midwife. She has a particular interest in normal birth, as well as an interest in the politics of childbirth and their impact on women’s birth experiences. She has also been a visiting lecturer. Vicky has juggled her career with her four children, the last three of whom were born at home, including twins.

Cathy Charles RGN, RM, BSc(Hons), BA(Hons)

Cathy is a midwife and ventouse practitioner, practising in acute and community settings in Wiltshire and Somerset. She has lectured and written on the subject of practising as a midwife ventouse practitioner in a stand‐alone birthing centre. Like Vicky, Cathy has an interest in waterbirth and home births. She also gained experience in investigating adverse events as a clinical audit/risk management co‐ordinator and has been a supervisor of midwives and a visiting lecturer. She teaches aquanatal classes.

The contributors

Charlise Adams BSc

Charlise qualified as a midwife in 2003 and has practised in a consultant‐led unit, a stand‐alone birthing centre and the private sector. She currently works in a major Wiltshire hospital. She has been published in various midwifery journals and facilitated teaching obstetric emergencies. She has also been involved with a local university, interviewing and clinically assessing students. Charlise is married with one gorgeous son!

Hannah Bailey RM, DipHE (Midwifery)

Hannah qualified as a midwife in 2001. She has worked in both community and acute settings; as a labour ward sister at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon; and as a practice development midwife at the Royal United Hospital in Bath. She worked closely with her consultant obstetric and anaesthetic colleagues to build a robust programme of regular staff simulation training to complement annual PROMPT training. Hannah’s interest in quality improvement includes a 3 year project to raise awareness of stillbirth in pregnant women, and she has just become head of quality and improvement at a local mental health trust. She plans to keep her midwifery registration by working at local birthing centres.

Annette Briley SRN, RM, MSc, PhD

Annette is a consultant midwife/clinical trials manager within the Division of Women’s Health at St Thomas’ Hospital, London. She was a clinical midwife for many years, working in all areas of maternity services, including obstetric ultrasound. Annette joined the St Thomas’ research team in 1997 and was involved in a major study on vitamins in pre‐eclampsia. She has since worked on numerous national and international pregnancy‐related clinical trials, including the UK Pregnancies Better Eating and Activity Trial (UPBEAT). She is a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Midwife Champion for London South, NIHR Advocate for Allied Health Professionals (Midwifery), Research and Development Lead for Women’s Services at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTFT) and NIHR Co‐Speciality Lead for Reproductive Health and Childbirth (London South). She completed her PhD in 2014 focusing on pre‐pregnancy, pregnancy‐acquired and intrapartum risk factors for blood loss in childbirth. Annette works with Tommy’s, the baby charity, and is a trustee of Maternity Worldwide.

Nick Castle PhD, MSc (Dist), DIMC, RGN

Nick is Head of Professions for the Hamad Medical Corporation Ambulance Service, Qatar, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Durban University of Technology, South Africa. He is a dual registered nurse and critical care paramedic who is the professional lead for over 1500 ambulance and nursing staff employed by the ambulance service in Qatar. Despite being an Assistant Executive Director Nick still maintains a minimum of 48 clinical patient‐facing hours per month. Nick is widely published in the field of emergency care, being the author of 68 peer‐reviewed papers as well as two books and numerous book chapters.

Jo Coggins DipHE (Midwifery) (Dist), BSc (Hons), MSc

Jo is a community midwife in Wiltshire, where she lives with her husband and two children. She previously practised in acute and community settings in Bath. Her role incorporates antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care for women giving birth at the local birthing centre and at home. Jo enjoys writing and has published articles in several midwifery journals.

Bryony Read RM, BA (Hons)

Bryony gained her midwifery degree from Oxford Brookes in 2001, and first worked at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. She then moved to the Princess Royal University Hospital in the London borough of Bromley, where she worked for 10 years as a case‐loading midwife in the Young Parents team. This was an inspiring and challenging job, leading to increased breastfeeding rates, which Bryony presented at the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) conference. In 2013 Bryony moved with her husband and young family to Wiltshire and she now works in a Young Parents team, shortly to expand into caring for other vulnerable women, at a stand‐alone birthing centre. Bryony has gained great experience in safeguarding and is keen to specialise in this going forward into the future.

Caroline Rutter RM, Cert Ed, Dip(HEM), BSc (Hons), PG (Cert), MSc TLHP

Caroline was a National Childbirth Trust (NCT) teacher prior to becoming a midwife in 1993 and worked as a midwife in stand‐alone midwifery units in Wiltshire until 2009. While continuing to work as a bank midwife Caroline then worked as a full‐time lecturer at the University of the West of England, sharing her passion for empowerment through education, effective communication and promotion of women‐centred values. Since 2016 Caroline has been a community midwife in Swindon.

Lesley Shuttler NCT Antenatal Teacher and Assessor, RN, Dip RM, BSc (Hons)

Pregnancy and birth have always held a fascination for Lesley. She has been involved with the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) for over 30 years, as a mum, teacher, tutor and study day facilitator. She has been a midwife for over 20 years. She has two daughters and is enjoying the honour of becoming Nanna to Ruby and Jude, both born at home in water.

I feel blessed that I can work in a manner that supports so many of my beliefs and values as a woman and as a mother. The women I have met both as a midwife and as an NCT specialist worker have been inspiring and have provided numerous challenges along the way. The day that I cease to feel challenged or inspired, the day I feel I have nothing to learn, is the day I will hang up my pelvis: I hope that is a long way in the future.