The Great Birth Rebellion

Have you ever thought about opening your own birth centre or birth house? Learn about the oldest existing independent birth house here in Launceston, Australia with Jaimee Smith, a private midwife who attends births at the birth house and who collated 35 years of statistics about the outcomes of births that occur there. You can learn more about the birth house and Jaimee Get more from the Great Bi...

What are we rebelling against here at the great birth rebellion? we are rebelling against the lies we are told about birth… and I’m going to explain it all from the perspective of understanding authoritative knowledge - don’t worry! I’ll explain that too… I’m really proud of this one rebels, it's a goodie, for the baddies (you’ll get the joke once you hear the episode) Join the other rebels at t h...

The decolonisation of birth. Mel invites Aimee Aroha ( @aimeearoha ) and Kirrily Dawn ( @the_returning_ @kirillydawn ) to approach this topic from an Indigenous perspective. We learn that decolonisation is about restoration of what was lost through colonisation. We start from the beginning for anyone who is new to this topic but go deep for people with a long term investment in decolonisation Foll...

Mel takes a deep look at the journal paper ‘Challenging the colonisation of birth: Koori women’s birthing knowledge and practice’ which describes Aboriginal womens birthing knowledge and practice prior to Colonisation and how these practices were impacted by invasion in 1788. This episode is best listened to in conjunction with episode 106. The decolonisation of childbirth. Get more from the Great...

Dr Melanie Jackson, the host of the great birth rebellion finally shares the findings from her 2014 PhD thesis, ‘Birthing outside the system: wanting the best and safest’ and explores the question of ‘why do women freebirth’ drawing directly from her thesis findings. You can read her full thesis or just the shorter academic publications in the resource folder (get on the mailing list to get access...

If you are planning a waterbirth, care for women using water, or you are just waterbirth curious, this episode is for you! You’ll also find this a handy episode for your birth support team so they know how to best help facilitate a waterbirth for you. In this episode we cover the risks and benefits of waterbirth and how to unlock access to one if you come up against resistance. In this episode Mel...

Dr Max Gulhane @dr_max_gulhane from the Regenerative Health Podcast and Regenerate health summit interviews Mel about Decentralising Maternity care and childbirth. Mel and Max have collaborated on this episode to share on the great birth rebellion podcast and the regenerative health podcast to spread the message loud and clear about the changes that need to happen in modern maternity care services...

Dr Sarah Buckley, academic and author of the best selling book ‘Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering, joins Mel to discuss how the brain works during labour and it’s interaction with the body. We speak about how to optimise brain function in labour in order to optimise birth physiology. For more about Sarah: Website: www.sarahbuckley.com FB: @DrSarahBuckley IG: @SarahJBuckley Twitter: @Sarahjbuckley Get...

Mel delves into the use of movement to regulate blood sugar levels during pregnancy, particularly for women managing gestational diabetes. Mel discusses research on how movement affects blood sugar levels and the implications of exercise in blood sugar control to reduce risks during birth. Mel shares practical advice on integrating movement into daily routines, advocating for experimentation to fi...

Lily Nichols, world renowned author of 3 books comes on the podcast to speak about her book ‘real food for gestational diabetes’. Mel asked her all about which foods help control and prevent diabetes in pregnancy and we discuss the problems with mainstream dietary advice given to women with gestational diabetes Lily’s website Real food for gestational diabetes Real Food for Pregnancy book Lily’s b...

This episode Mel addresses the inaccuracies of gestational diabetes screening and how we still don't have good research evidence on how to diagnose diabetes in pregnancy. Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each episode at www.melaniethemidwife.com Join the rebellion and show your support! Grab your Great Birth Rebellion...

In this episode Mel proposes that the use of Apgar scoring is invalid for women under the care of midwives, for babies who have their umbilical cord intact for longer than 60 seconds and for women having a physiological birth. Find out why in the episode Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each episode at www.melaniethemi...

We explore the options for tying off or clamping your babies umbilical cord including why ties went ‘out of fashion’ and what instigated the use of clamps instead. Mel will also discuss concerns some people have about using a tie instead of clamp and how these objections can be navigated. I learnt more than I thought! So you will too Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast Join the podcast...

Kristine Lauria is an American Midwife who apprenticed with Amish Midwives and attended births for 17 years before getting a ‘formal’ midwifery qualification. This paired with her training as a paramedic formed the basis for her work as a homebirth midwife and humanitarian aid Midwife with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF/Doctors without Borders) and as a trainer with Breech without Borders. Kristine...

This episode is a follow up to episode 93 and discusses the research around the different techniques when closing the uterus after a caesarean section. Some care providers will tell you that single layer closure represents a higher risk of uterine rupture, but I found 5 research papers that say otherwise. Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast Join the podcast mailing list to access the r...

In this episode I interview Dr Hazel Keedle and we discuss the strategies that you can apply to increase your chances of VBAC and also the risks and benefits of a repeat caesarean and the option of vaginal birth. Instagram: @hazelkeedle Facebook: @VBACmatters Twitter: @HazelKeedle Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each...

Alison Weatherstone (Chief Midwife) is here to discuss the new legislation that will open Australian Midwives up to even more autonomous practice including changes to professional indemnity insurance, increase in Medicare rebates, the abolishment of collaborative agreements and she gives away some information about ‘the 5000 hours’. We also discuss the proposed professional indemnity insurance pro...

Midwife Sarah Smits shares the knowledge she has around the traditional practice of belly binding and ways to apply this to your pregnancy and postpartum journey. Sarah has picked up these skills and teaches them from her unique lessons around the world. Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bridging_worlds_midwifery/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bwmidwife website https://www.bwmidwife.com Yout...

Midwife Sarah Smits tells us what she learnt from the Mayan midwives in Guatemala and how she/we can apply these in our circumstances. We discuss robozo, mayan abdominal massage and the place of steam and heat and traditional care practices applied to pregnant and postpartum women. Sarah discusses initiatives that are supporting the traditional midwives in Guatemala. Next week she will share about...

Mel interviews endorsed midwife Sarah Smits @bridging_worlds_midwifery who has spent her midwifery career travelling and collecting skills from other cultures which she now applies to her midwifery work in Australia and abroad. Today we learn about some of the skills that Sarah has collected and midwives will find inspiration for alternative ways of working and career options within her story. Ins...

The premium hub has since retired but In this episode Mel answers the questions submitted by the premium hub members. Mel discusses what to do if you get an urge to push your baby out, but your cervix isn’t fully dilated yet. Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each episode at www.melaniethemidwife.com Join the rebellion...

Almost every pregnant woman will need to make a decision about Group B strep, what decision would you make? Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each episode at www.melaniethemidwife.com Join the rebellion and show your support! Grab your Great Birth Rebellion merchandise now at www .thegreatbirthrebellion .com Follow us o...

Fiona Hallinan has over 30 years of experience working with women as a midwife, nurse and pelvic space therapist. Internal release work involves physically interacting with the pelvic space by accessing it through the vagina. Fiona talks about how her work now as an internal release work therapist evolved and developed and we tap into this learnt skill which is moving from oral tradition into main...

Artificial light exposure has a direct impact on labour timing and labour progress. Mel explores the importance of circadian rhythms and melatonin on labour activity and discovers the connection between oxytocin and melatonin in physiological labour. We also learn about what happens in a woman's body when she is exposed to light in labour and how to use light and darkness to your advantage. If you...

The ‘aging’ and ‘failing’ of placentas in late term pregnancy is talked about all over the place. Women get told that the longer they are pregnant, the more likely it is that their placenta will get old and stop functioning. Listen in to find out if that is true. What actually happens to placentas beyond 41 weeks? Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast Join the podcast mailing list to acc...