Aquabirths and Softbirths

21/08/2025

Waterbirth: USA V Europe, Obstetrician Suspended over Consent Case, Sudden Closure of Private Midwives, Milk 4 Tiny Humans. Plus News & Views... -

This article from Midwifery Today isn't new, in fact it was published in 2017, but it's just come to our attention and we feel that it merits a discussion.  How do waterbirth practices differ between the US and Europe, and why? The article suggests that the main differences are: The temperature of...

16/08/2025

Cultural Differences in Waterbirth Practices by Gail Hart
Many US practitioners are unaware that we do waterbirth differently than our European colleagues who developed it. Many of these European doctors and midwives are upset at that difference and would like US midwives to change the way we do waterbirths. There are two crucial differences in the way waterbirth is taught on the two continents.
https://www.midwiferytoday.com/mt-articles/cultural-differences-waterbirth-practices/

22/07/2025

Anything new in the National Maternity Investigation?, Jean Robinson Obituary, Threads of Protest: Exhibition for Birth Rights, Plus News and Views... -

I know that many readers of Choices will clearly remember the excitement back in 1993 when Changing Childbirth, a revolutionary report on UK maternity care, was published. What was brilliant about Changing Childbirth was its recognition of the importance of the relationship between midwife and pregn...

07/07/2025

BIG BABY Trial: Your Key Takeaway, Margaret Jowitt Obituary, LGBQTIA+, Perinatal Care Survey, Arrested for Miscarriage? Plus News and Views... -

We talked last month about The Big Baby Trial, which has now reached its conclusions. There is a lot of discussion in various media about the results, which did show, with one analysis of the data, that early induction can reduce the number of babies experiencing shoulder dystocia. Does that mean, t...

11/06/2025

BIG BABY Trial Data is IN! Born Stroppy Book Launch, Black Maternal Health Week, Birthing in Handcuffs, plus News and Views... -

If you've missed it (and I know you won't have!), The Big Baby Trial has been running since 2018, and this month the final results were published (here). We will be analysing this data over the next few editions of Choices, but here's a headline summary: 1) Women/people allocated to the trial had su...

08/06/2025

The Joys, Chaos, and Magic of Five Waterbirths: A Personal Journey. Juliet Fischer shares the joyful birth stories of her five children.
https://www.aims.org.uk/journal/item/waterbirth-every-baby

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18/02/2025

In Conversation With... All 4 Maternity, Born Stroppy Quotes, Gender/Sex challenges in maternity, Tracey Sealey on Informed Decision Making -

We all love a good podcast, don't we! There's a lot of maternity podcasts out there now, just as there are so many great resources on social media. So many that it can be hard to know which to give your time to. Well, here's one that is a must listen. Sheena Byrom, co-owner of the midwifery resourc...

27/01/2025

What's new in Gestational Diabetes? Being a Birth Activist, Cancelled Milk Nurses, Breastfeeding Twins and Triplets... Plus News and Views -

Dr Rachel Reed has been looking once more at the problems around the current treatment of gestational diabetes.  Her summary concludes that there are significant risks to consider with the common interventions that are recommended for women and people who have a diagnosis of gestational diabetes wh...