The Birth Hub Sandringham

27/03/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CSBhZC8U2/

👩‍⚕️ Is it better to see the same midwife or a small team of midwives throughout pregnancy and labour?

Evidence from 17 studies involving 18,533 randomized women was included in this updated systematic review.

Women or their babies who received midwife continuity of care models (seeing the same midwife or team of midwives) were:

⚕️ Less likely to experience a caesarean section or instrumental birth with forceps or a ventouse suction cup.

⚕️May be less likely to experience an episiotomy (a cut made by a healthcare professional into the perineum and vaginal wall).

⚕️More likely to experience spontaneous vaginal birth.

⚕️Reported more positive experiences during pregnancy, labour, and postpartum.

⚕️Additionally, there were cost savings in the antenatal (care during pregnancy) and intrapartum (care during labour and birth) period.

Further evidence may change our results, and future research should focus on the impact on women with social risk factors and those with medical complications, and understanding the implementation and scaling up of midwife continuity of care models, with emphasis on low‐ and middle‐income countries.

Read the full Cochrane review: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004667.pub6/full

20/03/2026

https://sms.lapsforlife.com.au/I4p.SAAD
Women’s mental halth prior to, during and in the early postpartum period is one of the highest risk for poor outcomes for Mum and baby. Donate now to help us raise funds for services to support su***de prevention 🙏

I need your help. I'm challenging myself to swim to save lives. Every day, one young person in Australia takes their own life – that's one too many. Please donate to my fundraising page and help ReachOut provide all young people in Australia with the support they need to be happy and well. ...

17/03/2026

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DV5OLdtk9g2/?igsh=aXJtZnloaXZjNGU=
A beautiful aetwork celebrating an incredible Aboriginal woman who was a midwife !

12/03/2026

All screening tests have downsides.

They may lead to overuse of intervention.

And every time we use technology like this, we are undermining women’s own knowledge.

The constant use of technology implies that our bodies aren’t capable of growing, birthing and feeding babies without a shed load of expensive machinery.

And that’s not just true.

One example of a screening test which women often aren't told enough about before they arrive and find someone wanting to do it is transvaginal ultrasound.

That's what my blog post is about today, and if you'd like to know more, you'll find it at https://www.sarawickham.com/articles-2/transvaginal-examination-the-need-for-care/

More info at www.sarawickham.com/me

12/03/2026

Something to consider when offered all the screening and testing during pregnancy: Iatrogenic Harm From Medical Overuse Gains Focus
Mónica M. Bernardo
February 13, 2026. Redefining Iatrogenesis
Iatrogenesis was narrowly defined as a medical error or an unavoidable adverse effect of a properly indicated treatment. Today, the term is understood more broadly as any unintended harm caused by healthcare, even when that care conforms to accepted guidelines, protocols, or good practices.

This broader definition includes adverse drug reactions, procedural complications, excessive diagnostic and preventive interventions, cascades of unnecessary testing, and psychosocial harm arising from the labeling, uncertainty, or medicalization of everyday life.

These reframing shifts attention from individual clinician responsibility toward the systemic factors that generate harm: rigid protocols, performance-based incentives, diagnostic pressure, and a healthcare culture that tends to equate more intervention with better care. In this context, iatrogenesis ceases to be an isolated accident and becomes a structural risk to the health system.

Within this framework, QP, also termed P4, acquires its full meaning: deliberate action to protect patients from unnecessary medical interventions, particularly when the probable harm exceeds the expected benefit, even if those interventions are technically feasible or socially demanded.

Unlike traditional prevention, QP questions the indiscriminate use of screening, early diagnosis, and marginal benefit treatments. It is grounded in person-centered medicine, clinical communication, shared decision-making, and the clinician’s critical self-awareness in the face of overmedicalization. The objective is not to “do nothing.” It is important to act with greater awareness and prudence in the future.

The foundational work of Alberto Ortiz Lobo, MD, at the Centro de Salud Mental de Salamanca, Madrid, Spain, illustrates how prevention, screening, and treatment can generate harm across the entire care continuum. Although recent empirical evidence remains limited, these insights are essential for understanding the risks of intervening without a clear balance between harm and benefit, always considering alternatives, and exercising utmost caution to ensure patient safety and autonomy.

12/03/2026

So much is happening in maternity care, it's hard to keep up. WHO 2024 : majour policy shift from focus on facility based birth, to every women having access to a known midwife, providing continuity, indivudalised, culturally safe care. Birthing outcomes are significantly improved when you know your midwife. Yet less than 6% of women in Victoria have access to midwife led continuity of care. If you're a midwife wanting to join a group of Vic midwives fighting for all women to have access to known midwives across their pregnancy and birth DM me for a link to join. All women, you can help. Contact your hospitals, local MP's, tell you GP,. Share this policy paper. Together we can do this.

Under international human rights law, governments are obligated to promote, respect, protect, ensure and uphold the rights of women, newborns, children and adolescents to receive high-quality health care and enjoy the highest standards of health. As a foundational step on the pathway towards UHC, th...

25/02/2026

The countdown is on. Just one week to go.

Join us as we mark , celebrate one year of PUSH, and build momentum towards IMNHC2026. This is our collective moment to come together, learn from one another, and strengthen the call for women’s rights and midwives. You will hear directly from advocates across regions who are advancing woman-centred care in their communities and shaping change where it matters most.

The event will open with remarks from ICM Chief Midwife Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent and AlignMNH Director Anita Gibson. We will then move into two dynamic panels highlighting the partnership between midwives and women’s advocates.

First, Midwives’ Associations from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda will share reflections and results from the First Regional Advocacy Incubator. Then we will hear from PUSH champions in Portugal (APEO), Saudi Arabia (ARMAG), and Guatemala (Libera) on how they are advancing the global movement for woman-centred care in their contexts.

This is our shared opportunity to connect, learn, and keep building momentum together.

Register here: http://bit.ly/46rORQD

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Kind regards,

Join us for our International Women's Day event! We are celebrating the one year anniversary of the PUSH campaign and building momentum towards IMNHC 2026 as we bring together midwives, advocates, and partners to PUSH back for rights, for women, and for midwives. The event will spotlight advocacy wi...

23/02/2026

So proud of my daughter Hannah, working with Pacific countries on neglected trpoical diseases. Clean water, sanitation, access to health care and education fundamental not just for NTD's but maternity care as well. In Timor Leste over 50% of health posts don't have clean water or electricity, yet the midwives deliver pregnancy care to their communities and achieve safe birthing outcomes through connection, education and the love of their work.

17/02/2026

17/02/2026

Read this carefully. Risking your baby is so often thrown at women questioning an intervention. What is the real risk, whats alternative, what if you do nothing, what if you wait? It’s always ok to ask questions,

If a headline says something “doubles your risk,” what does that actually mean?
Both numbers are technically true.
Only one tells you what it means for you.
Understanding this difference changes how you read health news, vaccine studies, food research, and environmental data.
We breakdown the studies thoroughly for this exact reason — because context protects you from panic.