When planning a VBAC with gestational diabetes feels like swimming upstream If you’re planning a VBAC with gestational diabetes and feeling unheard, dismissed, or worn down by repeated pushback, you’re not imagining it, and you’re certainly not alone. Many of you are quietly nodding along as you read this. You’ve done your homework. Your gestational...
Over the past few days, the discourse around freebirth and the role of doulas has been clouded by miscommunication, misplaced blame, and blatant misogyny. Recent statements from Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) and Australian College of Midwives (ACM) have sparked what feels like a targeted witch-hunt of doulas; one...
Wait for white: why optimal cord clamping matters for your baby In the moments after birth, there’s often a flurry of activity: checking the baby, cleaning, measuring and of course, cutting the cord. But before that clamp clicks shut, there’s a critical opportunity to support your baby’s transition in a simple yet powerful way: by...
What does radical responsibility mean in childbirth? We often hear that “birth is unpredictable,” and while that’s true, what’s often left out of the conversation is how much power women actually do have in shaping their birth experience. This is where the concept of radical responsibility becomes so important. Radical responsibility in childbirth doesn’t mean...
For the most part, I feel so positive about the new VBAC guidelines just released by ACOG this month (ACOG Practice Bulletin #184) and wanted to share a few highlights that potential VBAC women can really push for with their own care providers here in Australia. We seem to be so far behind in Australia,...
The rights of a pregnant woman anywhere in the world must be taken seriously, but for the purpose of being Australian and educating my local community I have put together some really important resources so that women have an easy reference point to go to and know that they do have rights, they can refuse...