The Birth Hub Sandringham

19/11/2025

Think there is no connection between maternal health and marathons? Think again!

It’s Rural Health Month, and in many communities, pregnant women must travel farther than 26.2 miles — the distance of a marathon — to reach the care they need.

In the average time it takes to run a marathon, 100 women will die from pregnancy- or childbirth-related complications. And, for women in rural areas, the risk of dying from complications is nearly THREE TIMES higher.

Distance should never be a barrier to accessing maternal healthcare, but for too many, especially those living in rural areas, it is.

That’s why we run: to turn miles into meaning. Through our Endurance Fund, every dollar helps us continue to advance maternal health, no matter the challenges. 🔗Help support this work: https://everymothercounts.org/donate/

08/11/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/16vhdmHXc6/?mibextid=wwXIfr
The CTG: no evidence, drives unnecessary interventions. Let me know how many ofyou had continuous monitoring during your Labour?? Please reply Yes/ No. The majority of women are subjected to this, every day in every hospital in Australia .

An excellent article today from . Note the lack of evidence supporting the use of continuous fetal monitoring, the clear influence of business and economics, and the money grab from AI companies who claim studies support their product - when in fact they don’t - resulting in remote monitoring hubs.

I especially love that placenta accreta is described early in the article so the public can see that cesareans carry risk. As a result, we need to ensure that they occur only when needed or wanted.

Note that the photo for this article is of a remote monitoring hub. One such hub is up to 60 miles away from the hospital in which the woman is laboring.

“Nearly every woman who gives birth in an American hospital is strapped with a belt of sensors to track the baby’s heartbeat. If the pattern is deemed abnormal — too slow, for example — doctors often call for an emergency C-section.

But this round-the-clock monitoring, the most common obstetric procedure in the country, rarely helps baby or mother. Decades of research have shown that the tool does not reliably predict fetal distress. In fact, experts say, it leads to many unnecessary surgeries as doctors overreact to its ever-changing readouts.

The obstetrics field has long ignored these problems. Now, it’s putting more trust than ever on the flawed technology, often prioritizing business and legal concerns ahead of what’s best for patients, The New York Times found.

This fall, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists updated its guidelines on continuous monitoring, sanctioning it even as some other wealthy countries have cautioned against its routine use…

All three remote hubs, along with 400 other hospitals around the country, use A.I. software to help analyze the heart data. The software’s maker, PeriGen, has claimed on its website that 50 studies backed up its products.

But none of the studies found that the technology improved birth outcomes. PeriGen removed the list of studies after an inquiry from The Times. The company’s chief executive, Matthew Sappern, acknowledged that no clinical trials had shown benefits.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/health/electronic-fetal-monitoring-c-sections.html?unlocked_article_code=1.zE8.145f.FPhFANzFoVZp&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

06/11/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1BPJRAdyQ8/?mibextid=wwXIfr

In the wake of several recent tragedies linked to freebirth, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) & the Australian College of Midwives (ACM) have called upon Commonwealth & state and territories.

04/11/2025

28/10/2025

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It sometimes feels like there's a new childbirth-related news headline every week.

And no matter whether it's on the web, in the papers or on TV, it’s highly likely that it will be scary and focused on risk.

It may instill fear and undermine women’s confidence in their own bodies and babies.

Here are a few things that you should bear in mind when reading these headlines and the associated stories.

1. Both the originator of the research and the people who turn it into a story want to get the headline and the story to spread as far and wide as possible. Their job isn't to help you make an informed decision about what is right for you.

2. The goal of getting maximum publicity for a research finding or story is sometimes achieved by taking a sensationalist stance. Sometimes, key facts are glossed over, shared in a misleading way or left out completely.

3. Risk and fear sell news very quickly. There are many, many studies showing that birth is safe and that women's bodies are marvellously good at growing, birthing and feeding babies. But these don't make exciting headlines, and they don't make nearly as many people read, click and share, so they are often ignored.

4. There is almost never any discussion of the bigger picture or the wider context, either of the study or situation itself or of other work that has been done on the same topic. We need more information than can be found in the headlines.

5. In reality, research and report findings are never certain. All studies have limitations. Sadly, the complexity and the uncertainty gets compromised in favour of those risk-filled headlines which make you want to click, read and share.

Stay calm. Remember that the job of the media is to sell headlines, not to help people making pregnancy and birth decisions.

Breathe.

Get informed.

And then make the decision that's right for you.

If you'd like to see more of my work on this topic, you can find me at https://www.sarawickham.com/wrfm

16/10/2025

When a parent pauses to breathe before reacting, they model emotional regulation in real time.

Research shows that children’s stress levels mirror their caregivers’ state; parental calm reduces child anxiety and supports healthier emotional development.

This is co-regulation: your nervous system guiding theirs.

Next time tension rises, try a breath before words. It may be the most powerful lesson your child learns today

16/10/2025

Someone once told me,
“If you can’t settle the baby or the toddler, bring them outside or put them in the bath.”

And honestly, that was the best parenting advice I’ve ever gotten.

It sounds so simple but it works.
The air changes, the energy shifts, and suddenly the crying softens.
It’s like the world steps in to help soothe them when you can’t.

Now, every time things start to spiral, I remind myself:
go back to the basics.
Water. Fresh air.
The things that calm their little souls and mine too.

12/10/2025

During pregnancy, something incredible happens inside a mother’s body.
Tiny fetal cells slip across the placenta and quietly take root in her bloodstream. They don’t stop there — they travel further, settling in her heart, her skin, even her brain.
Scientists call this fetomaternal microchimerism — a hidden biological bond where cells pass both ways: from mother to child, and child back to mother.
The most astonishing part? These cells can remain for decades. A child leaves a microscopic trace of themselves in their mother’s body long after birth — a secret thread of connection that never fully disappears.
Researchers are still uncovering what these cells do. Some evidence suggests they may help with repair or immune function, while other findings show the story is more complex. But one thing is certain: they are proof of a bond that goes beyond touch, beyond time.
It’s as if nature whispered a silent message: “Your child will always be a part of you.” 🌌💞

~Weird Wonders and Facts

11/10/2025

This is an add but something to think about- I’ve always suggested glass bottles .stainless steel? Thoughts? https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17K3BwQUY9/?mibextid=wwXIfr

10/10/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CpAdd52f9/?mibextid=wwXIfr