Supporting Women for Labour and Birth A Thoughtful Guide

Fear of childbirth, the increasing use of epidurals and soaring caesarean section rates are the focus of much apprehension, debate, and controversy in contemporary maternity care. Across the world, support in labour has been shown to reduce obstetric interventions and improve outcomes for women and babies, yet women often report feeling unhappy with the support they receive. This textbook provides a clear and practical guide to supporting women in labour, looking at a range of techniques and approaches that promote a safe and positive experience of birth for women and their families.

Written by two highly experienced midwifery authors, this text draws on up-to-date research, identifying how evidence can be applied to everyday practice. It includes narratives from women and practitioners, including midwives, doulas, childbirth educators and students. These are used to illustrate a range of situations where the quality of support is central to the quality of the experience and outcome. Supporting Women for Labour and Birth encourages readers to reflect on their experiences and examine the evidence provided by both research and the experiences of women and practitioners in order to explore how this could be incorporated into their practice.

The only book to deal directly with the practical and emotional issues associated with labour support, it is an ideal text for student midwives and an important reference for practising midwives, doulas and other childbirth practitioners.

Foreword

Prologue

Introduction

1. What Do We Mean by 'Support' in Labour?

2. Approaches to Pain in Labour

3. Addressing Fear and Anxiety About Labour and Birth

4. Supporting Women Preparing for Labour and Birth

5. Communication and Thoughtful Encouragement

6. Supporting Women for Normal Birth

7. Supporting Women in Labour: Practicalities

8. Supporting Women Who Are Having a Complicated Labour

9. Emotions and Labour Support

Epilogue

Nicky Leap was born in 1948 and grew up in the West Country, England. She became a National Childbirth Trust (NCT) teacher in the 1970s and was a youth and community worker in London before training to be a midwife. For more than 30 years, Nicky has worked in England and Australia in a variety of roles in midwifery practice, education and research, gaining her doctorate in 2005. She is an Adjunct Professor of Midwifery at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. Nicky divides her time between living in Bristol (UK) and the Blue Mountains (Australia).

Billie Hunter was born in 1953 in South London. After midwifery training in 1979, Billie worked in diverse settings from inner London to the Outer Hebrides. Since 1992, Billie has lived in Wales and has been engaged in midwifery teaching and research, gaining her PhD in 2002. She was appointed as Professor of Midwifery at Swansea University, UK, in 2006 and Royal College of Midwives Professor of Midwifery at Cardiff University, UK, in 2011. She also holds Honorary Chairs at the Universities of Nottingham and Surrey, UK, and is an Adjunct Professor of Midwifery at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.