Mamatoto Midwives

23/05/2024

Thank you Dr Rachel Reed

An understanding of physiology should underpin childbirth education. We need to reclaim birth knowledge rather than reinforce and sustain misconceptions created during the medicalisation of women's bodies. Diagrams and teaching aids depicting neat, circular cervical dilation are incorrect and perpetuate misinformation.
https://midwifethinking.com/2016/06/15/the-anterior-cervical-lip-how-to-ruin-a-perfectly-good-birth/

21/02/2024

This photo is one of and my absolute favourites 🥰 It is simply stunning…but for us, knowing the journey this woman had with a low lying placenta, seeing her dream of a normal birth and a homebirth become reality was incredible… At the 20/40 ultrasound the placenta was found to be sitting at the cervical opening ‘os’. A repeat scan at 32/40 showed the placenta to be 1.5cm away from the os. So it was decided to repeat the scan again at 36/40, the results came as a shock…the placenta was only 1cm away…so sonographers had differing opinions on where the placental edge was. It wasn’t looking likely that our client would be able to have her homebirth…but our obstetrician was happy to support her to have a vaginal birth in hospital…with a view to move to a caesarean if any heavy blood loss…I must say we all felt something wasn’t right. Sonographers had different opinions…and so much of our clients plans depended on the location of her placenta! There had been no bleeding throughout pregnancy and her baby’s head was well engaged into the pelvis…so the signs were that baby wasn’t trying to stay away from the placenta by remaining high…So at 38 weeks my client and I chatted about going to a different sonographer for a third opinion. I received a call to say that in their opinion the placental edge was at least 2.8 cm away from the internal os!!!! So we decided to go back to our original plan for a homebirth…keeping in mind that there were differing opinions on whether the placental edge was low lying. We agreed to have a low threshold to transfer should there be any bleeding…Throughout her labour there was not even one drop of blood…not even a bloody show!
So when I captured this magical photo straight after their beautiful waterbirth at home…to all of us…this photo said so much. Without doubt now I recommend to my clients that if they still have a low lying placenta later on in their pregnancy, to get a second and even third opinion…
Thankyou to our very special clients for allowing us to share this photo and your journey…which could help others xoox 📸

15/02/2024

This little treasure was our clients second homebirth with us, and their third baby. Their First baby was induced at term for low Amniotic Fluid Levels (AFI). What followed was an induction of labour at term which luckily resulted in a normal birth…of a healthy baby. It is normal for the AFI to reduce at term and post dates but when AFI levels are low or even low normal at term, an induction of labour is pretty much always recommended by the hospitals. This is because a lowering AFI can be a sign of fetal distress…the amniotic fluid is created by the baby’s kidneys, and if the kidneys aren’t producing much urine this can be because the baby’s organs aren’t receiving enough oxygen from the placenta and aren’t working as well as they could be.
The AFI can also vary according to the Mothers state of hydration, and in the absence of any other issues such as suspected baby not growing so well, high blood pressure or decreased movements, then the finding of a low AFI or low normal AFI doesn’t necessarily indicate that there is a problem with the growing baby. Another factor that needs to be considered is that currently in the State of Victoria 50% of first time Mothers who have their labours induced end up requiring a caesarean section…(Victorian Perinatal Data). Now that’s HUGE! Whilst caesarean absolutely has it’s place, it is major abdominal surgery which also does not come without risk…So moving back to my client…this little treasure in the photo decided to stay put inside Mumma’s womb much longer than her other babies did. She went well over her ‘due date’ and at the last appointment I had with her (before she went into labour spontaneously) I felt the AFI was probably decreasing….there were no other concerns with her pregnancy so we decided to wait (not very long) for labour to start… which it did x Resulting in a beautiful waterbirth at home of another well healthy baby xx Thank you for allowing me to share this photo and your story 📸

07/02/2024

19 days to go…Juliana will be flying over to Ethiopia to meet Emebet…and visit the Hamlin School of Midwifery and the Hospital by the river…
Over the next few weeks we will keep you posted about The Hamlin Foundation and their work…and the stories of Ethiopian women birthing…and the problems they face…
Posted • 🤱WOMEN OF HAMLIN: Midwife Mentor, Emebet

💛Meet Emebet, a graduate of the Hamlin College of Midwives, she now is passing on her knowledge to recent Hamlin Midwife graduates at Hamlin’s Yirgalem Hospital.

✨ Her working week involves ultrasound scanning, managing the distribution of medical supplies to rural clinics, and visiting small clinics to provide support to working midwives, who are often the only source of maternal and child healthcare in Ethiopia’s rural villages


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01/02/2024

There is something so incredibly special about these moments. Showing children how to feel Mummas tummy and where their baby is positioned in the womb. We love your family Bek and Lloyd…can’t wait to meet your new treasure earthside soon xoooox. Posted • Our homebirth plan meeting was pure and utter divine chaos today 💫 kids running around, so much noise, love and excitement for these final weeks of pregnancy, and the impending birth of this beautiful baby. How blessed I am to be here at this point, nurtured, healthy and having had another completely seamless pregnancy. Grateful beyond belief, with so much empathy for those whose journeys aren’t as easy.

This photo makes my heart swell, both my sons watching and participating eagerly at mother-centred care at home, surrounded by the most beautiful and trusting women, and their incredible Dad. What an imprint on how birth care can look like!

Feeling so safe, held and in complete trust of myself and baby. We got this 🙌🏻

27/01/2024

Simply stunning 🤩 And that wee foot!!! A new arrival for 2024 📸

23/01/2024

Just love this x

Pathways to Family Wellness magazine promotes holistic parenting and informed lifestyle choices from leading experts.

19/01/2024

As we start 2024 we look forward to supporting our families to have the most empowering birth experiences…
We have all had a break over Christmas and New Year and our cups have been filled…
Can’t wait for those calls…it’s time to come…to hear the roaring Maternal effort…to see those new faces emerging…and to be part of this experience…
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19/01/2024

“This is your birth, be whoever you need to be…”
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13/01/2024

Happy New Year to our wonderful Mamatoto families and the birthing community xx I’m super excited to share our statistics for 2023 x I want to thank all our 2023 families for trusting us to take care of your precious families and birth experiences xx We has such a fantastic year and we warmly look forward to 2024 x To our incredible team of midwives x I love you all and I am so very grateful for the closeness we have as a team xoxooxoxoox

12/01/2024

Soooooo true…Thank you Rachel Reed for this excellent information x

The 'fetal ejection reflex' is NOT the 'Ferguson reflex' (spontaneous pushing). Yet, I see the terms used incorrectly and interchangeably everywhere. I think this is a symptom of our current recirculation of surface-level misinformation in the birth culture. As a stickler for detail I twitch every time I see the term 'fetal ejection reflex' misused 🥴🤣 I usually save these types of longer rants for the Collective, but here you go...

FERGUSON REFLEX
Discussed in an article by James Kenneth Wallace Ferguson in 1941 (another female bodily function named after a man). AKA 'utero-pituitary reflex' relates to when the baby's head descends and stretches the cervix and pelvic tissues stimulating receptors in these tissues to create a feedback loop that increases oxytocin and changes the contraction pattern to stronger and more expulsive. This is the normal uncontrollable spontaneous urge to push.

FETUS EJECTION REFLEX
This term was initially coined by Newton, Foshee and Newton concerning experiments on mice. Michel Odent applied the term to physiological human birth in his article 'The Fetus Ejection Reflex'. In the article, Odent discusses his theory of physiologic fear where the fetus ejection reflex is initiated by a surge of adrenaline and catecholamines. This reflex results in an extremely fast birth ie. immediate ejection of the baby as an evolutionary survival mechanism initiated by a threat (predator) at the end of labour. In his article, Odent writes "The fetus ejection reflex must not be confused with the Ferguson reflex. The Ferguson reflex is triggered by the pressure of the presenting part on the perineal muscles–in other words, local factors–while the fetus ejection reflex can start much earlier and is not triggered by local factors."
You can find more birth-related information on my blog, podcast, YouTube, articles, books, courses and collective at www.rachelreed.website

03/01/2024

Great information here x Thankyou sarawickham.com for sharing x