The Midwives' Cauldron

Dr. Kathleen Kendall-Tackett is a health psychologist and International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant, and the CEO of Praeclarus Press, a small press specializing in women's health. Dr. Kendall-Tackett is Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Psychological Trauma and was Founding Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Lactation .  Dr. Kendall-Tackett specializes in women's-health research includin...

James Bourton is a registered midwife who works in an NHS continuity of care midwifery model within in Wales, UK. James describes himself as a home birth midwife, experienced in physiological birth, working autonomously as a practitioner with the support of a small midwifery team. James is passionate about providing women and families with individualised care that works for them in a way that they...

In this episode Rachel & Katie discuss all things listening to babies during labour.  Rachel walks us through: The Herstory of listening to the baby’s heart rate during labour.  The interesting and scary history of the inventer of the pinard trumpet.  Rachel’s “heart beat” impression!  Rachel’s ‘under water’ pinard story!  We discuss pinards and doppler listening devices. #bringbackthepinnard...

Welcome to this episode of The Cauldron! We have the wonderful Lyndsey Hookway in the bubbling pot with us today.  Lyndsey is an experienced paediatric nurse, children’s public health nurse, IBCLC, researcher, responsive sleep/parenting advocate, and the author of 6 books. She has worked with children and families for more than 20 years within in-patient paediatrics, paediatric ambulatory care, NI...

This episode is all about assessment of labour as we interview Dr Clare Davison.  Clare is a midwife, academic and feminist. Clare is passionate about promoting and supporting physiological birth and working with women so that they can be empowered in their birth choices. Clare combines these passions by working as an independent midwife, providing holistic continuity of care to women; and as an a...

It’s season 4 and to kick us off you have me and Rachel chewing the fat on all things breastfeeding and lactation. In this episode, we delve in to look at what is going on with in-hospital formula milk supplementation for breastfed infants. We ask why the supplementation rates are so high, and discuss it’s impact on breastfeeding, and lactation physiology. We talk about teat/bottle confusion, the...

Thank you to all of you who joined us in season 3, it has been epically wonderful! We are off for a little summer/winter break, but stay tuned as we will be back with some awesome new and exciting offerings for your lugg'ols and eyeballs! Listen in to the trailer to hear more. Until then you can find lots more  below. LINKS: Rachel Reed -courses, books, blog, etc Buy us a coffee to keep the c...

In this episode we talk to Anita Moorhead about all things antenatal hand expression. Anita is a Clinical Nurse/Midwife Consultant (for Lactation), at the Royal Women’s Hospital, Melbourne, a coordinator for the DAME (Diabetes and Antenatal Milk Expressing) trial and PhD candidate at the Judith Lumley Centre, La Trobe University, Australia. Anita has collaborated on breastfeeding papers and report...

In this episode we interview Ellie Young. Ellie is an Australian edge-dwelling registered midwife, qualitative researcher and writer. She has worked with women and families for over 15 years within the permaculture and traditional nutrition space whilst supporting women choosing to give birth outside the system. After midwifery training, Ellie went back to attending homebirth within her community,...

In this episode we have Dr Hazel Keedle and we are talking all things VBAC, vaginal birth after caesarean! Hazel is a lecturer of midwifery at Western Sydney University, Australia. Hazel has worked in midwifery group practices, an aboriginal medical service, a variety of hospital settings and as a privately practising midwife in both city and regional locations.  Hazel’s passion for VBAC followed...

In this episode we have Professor Helen O'Connell and we are talking all things clitoris! Professor O'Connell was elected Vice -President of USANZ in 2021. She was the first female Urologist in Australia and New Zealand, completing training in Melbourne in 1993 followed by a Fellowship in Female and Functional Urology in Houston, USA in 1994-5. Her doctoral studies in female pelvic anato...

In this episode we have the fabulous Kemi Johnson on to chat with us. Kemi is a mother, birthkeeper in the birthroom, birth educator and birth activist. Formerly an independent midwife, registered in the UK she is now freely following her calling to facilitate healthy ecstatic births for mothers, and their babies. We chat with Kemi about home birth, free-birth, and why the reported outcomes can of...

In this episode, we answer your questions! We take a dive into, inverted nipples and what you can do during pregnancy and with breastfeeding. Answer whether vaginal examinations are necessary during pregnancy, why milk teeth are called milk teeth, look into informed non-consent in the hospital setting, and discuss declining interventions during labour & birth. We delve into the ethics and copy...

In this episode in the cauldron, we have Pippa Grace, the author of Mother in the mother.  Pippa is a socially engaged artist, writer, and sculptor. Her work brings together over 26 years of training and working in the worlds of holistic health, bodywork, dance, creative writing, film, and sculpture.   Pippa facilitates the sharing of stories and the creation of ‘visual narratives’ at beautifully...

In this episode come with us on a journey into the land of kangaroos... only kidding we are talking about kangaroo mother care and skin-to-skin contact. You may think this is a topic you may know everything about but before you switch off I recommend listening in. Look, even Rachel learned stuff she didn't know, and she was the one in our planning meeting who said "what a whole hour on s...

On this incredible episode, we get the pleasure of picking the brain of Dr Sarah Buckley, where we go on a journey into the hormones from conception to pregnancy, birthing to feeding, bonding & attachment. Sarah Buckley is a New-Zealand-trained GP/family physician with qualifications in GP-obstetrics and family planning. She is also a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland, where her re...

In this episode, we interview Lily Nichols RDN. Lily is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator, researcher, and author with a passion for evidence-based prenatal nutrition. Her work is known for being research-focused, thorough, and critical of outdated dietary guidelines. She is co-founder of the Women’s Health Nutrition Academy and the author of two books, Real Food for...

In this episode, Rachel and I discuss all things placentas!  We look more deeply at the time it takes to transfer blood from the placenta into the baby after birth and what the reason for this is. Rachel makes a stand for the “forgotten placenta” as well as bringing in some blokes named Erasmus from 1796 and Pierre from 1875 to make our jaws drop when she reveals what they were saying about lettin...

In this episode Professor Hannah Dahlen talks us through her incredible beginnings growing up as the daughter of a midwife and her early initiation into the birth world in Yemen. How her passion for feminism and supporting women was seeded into her through her young girl experiences seeing and recognising how differently women and girls are treated and seen.  Hannah shares with us her own connecti...

In this episode we have got Dr Sara Wickham back! Sara’s newest book titled In Your Own Time: How western medicine controls the start of labour and why this needs to stop, is a masterclass in what the evidence really says about induction of labour and a fascinating insight into how birth has come to be controlled by Western medicine.  Staggeringly, over a third of all pregnant women have their lab...

In this episode we go on an hour-long whistle-stop tour all about low  milk supply. We touch on topics such as:  How many women experience low milk supply Breast refusal Re-building milk supply Donor milk Nipple teat confusion Breast reduction surgery The top up trap Medications that could affect milk supply Witching hours and COLIC  Phew! It's jam packed.  We even have some great 80s or is i...

In this episode we have with us Dr Florence Wilcock , an obstetrician who has been working in NHS maternity services for more than 25 years. Florence has a special interest in improving women’s experience of maternity care & has been a consultant in London since 2007 where she is currently the lead obstetrician for Perinatal mental health as well as working with the Birth Options team, and hom...

We'll be back soon. Thanks for being with us for Season 2; all the in-depth conversations, truth-bombs, singing, laughter and so many golden nuggets!  It's great to have you with us in this big bubbling cauldron of goodness.  Watch out for the beginning of Season 3 on our Instagram page where we have some great stuff coming up for you all.  Please check out our links below.  LINKS:  Dr R...

In this episode, we talk with Bashi Kumar-Hazard.  Bashi is an Australian-based lawyer who works to promote the human rights of women and infants in the provision of maternity healthcare.  She has represented families and healthcare providers defending their human rights in coronial inquests, court proceedings, and civil disputes. Her background experience is in the field of competition and consum...

In this 2nd episode on gestational diabetes, we discuss the baby; what is hypoglycaemia, how does it affect babies, what are the signs, and how is it treated? We look at some of the evidence and latest guidelines for treatment of hypoglycaemia in the infant, as well as antenatal hand expression, what helps support a baby's glucose level after birth and the link between women with gestational...