You're listening to the Happy Homebirth Podcast, Episode 104
Today's guest: Dr Rachel Reed is a midwife, academic, author, and international speaker who focuses on childbirth physiology, midwifery practice, and women's rights (and rites). She has provided midwifery care for many women and has attended births in a wide range of settings and circumstances. Rachel is the author of the award-winning blog MidwifeThinking and the co-host of The Midwives' Cauldron podcast. She has published widely in journals and magazines, and her first book Why Induction Matters is a popular resource for women and care providers. Her most recent book Reclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage: weaving ancient wisdom with modern knowledge will be published early 2021. Further information about Rachel and her work is available at www.rachel-reed.website. and….she’s just delightful.
I find myself getting sucked into her blog archives for hours at a time, and for today’s episode I decided to ask her about several topics that she covers quite wonderfully there. I know you’re going to deeply enjoy this episode. With that, let’s jump in!
Show Notes:
Big Babies
Most women having homebirth in Australia have “big” babies, and they’re not scary.
In hospital, however, it can be a different story. If a doctor diagnoses a mother with a “big baby” on ultrasound, it can begin to cause stress and fear for her.
Dr. Reed mentions that the research does not separate healthy, normal big babies from those whose mothers have gestational diabetes. These babies tend to have bigger shoulders and can have more difficulty coming out (though most of them come out just fine, too).
“Big babies don’t scare me, but what people do about big babies does scare me.”
Women who are told they have a big baby: C sections, tearing, poorer outcomes are more likely— so it’s the outside causing the problem.
A care provider’s fear of the big baby can cause many of the interventions
Gestational Diabetes as a label— fairly nonsensical
If there are abnormally high blood glucose levels circulating, that does impact the baby and potentially the birth. However, the blood glucose levels being used are not evidence-based
In Australia, around 17% of women are now labeled as a gestational diabetic.
When Dr. Reed was training, we only tested those who had risk factors.
The issues with challenge tests: it’s an abnormal test— many pregnant women are not drinking sugary drinks, so the tests results can be very off.
VBAC- Mountain or Molehill?
Is this as dangerous as the medical community seems to happen?
Research related to this is mixed with those who are having inductions and those who are not— when we remove those who are having inductions, we see the already small number of issues become all the smaller.
Statistically a
Ep 223: Jacy’s Grief of Stillbirth and the Redemption That Followed
Ep 222: A Honeymoon Baby and Homebirth with Kelly Benner
Ep 221: Exploring Matrescence with Anisha Patel
Ep 220: Aimee Uses Homebirth to Reclaim Her Motherhood Journey
Ep 219: Katelyn’s Third Trimester Update
Ep 218: Surprise Pregnancy Brings Healing to Old Traumas with Amanda Lopez
Ep 217: Michelle’s Very Similar, Very Different Births!
Ep 216: Made for This Birth with Mary Haseltine
Ep 215: An Unpredictable Homebirth with Miriam Kleynerman
Ep 214: Managing Gestational Diabetes and Achieving Homebirth with Cassidy Lilly
Ep 213: First Time Peaceful Homebirth as a First Time Foster Mom with Alexis Meisenholder
Ep 212: From Mothering Struggle to Success with Blythe Hoerr
Ep 211: Becoming the Decision-Maker of Your Birth Experience with Courtney Paba
Ep 210: Opting Out of the Hospital and into Homebirth with Jamie Murphy
Ep 209: I Wanted to be the BEST Mother. Here’s How Homebirth Prep Helped!
Ep 208: ”But What If I Fail?” - 3 Ways to Overcome Your Homebirth Fears
Ep 207: From Addiction and Homelessness to Hope and Homebirth with Gabrielle Manier
Ep 206: Raising Children While Healing Your Inner Child with Greta Zukoff
Ep 205: Free Your Family From Harmful EMFs (and 2 freebirths!) With Courtney Taylor
Ep 204: Conscious Conception and Conscious Protection of Our Families
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