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 147: Preparing for a Positive Birth, and Big Babies Born at Home
Ep 146: The Value of Homebirth and Unexpected Hospital Costs
Ep 145: Leslie and Kevin‘s Birthing Journey
Ep 144: Birth Uprising with Dr. Sarah Leahy
EP 143: Healing Bodywork for Babies
Ep 142: Kelsey Improves Her Intuition Through Birth
Ep 141: An Aloha Homebirth
Ep 140: From Reluctant to Triumphant: Kelli’s Happy Homebirth
Ep 139: Simplifying Birth, Simplifying Childhood with Ginny Yurtich
Ep 138: Trusting Your Gut and The Importance of Care Provider Selection
Ep 137: Girls Who Know with Laurisa Paul
Ep 136: Erin’s Essential Lessons in Homebirth
Ep 135: Assessing Your Risk Tolerance in Birth
Ep 134: A Reluctant Homebirth?!
Ep 133: Elizabeth’s Peaceful Surprise Twin Homebirth
Ep 132: Influencing Your Own Hormonal Responses in Birth and Breastfeeding
Ep 131: Fertility and Freebirth with Noelle Kowalski
Ep 130: Home is Where the Birth is with Talise Homebirth Queen
Ep 129: Healing Trauma Mamas: How Trauma Can Impact Pregnancy and Birth and Why We Must Heal
Ep 128: The Importance of Mindset and Language in Birth
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