The Obs Pod

Why is minimising  blood loss after having a baby so important? Maybe you had an above average blood loss after having a baby and you would like to understand more? What are the techniques and emergency actions the maternity team have available to look after women? Info for pregnant women https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/patients/patient-leaflets/heavy-bleeding-after-birth-postpartum-haemorrhage/ Unders...

What is it like working in the high pressure environment and how can we look after oursleves and set realistic expectations of what we can do. MatNeoQI safety culture survey   https://improvement.nhs.uk/documents/5039/Measuring_safety_culture_in_matneo_services_qi_1apr.pdf   https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/careers-training/workplace-workforce-issues/later-career-report/issues/burnout/ https://www.nursi...

The episodes builds on episode 30 statistics with a more in depth look at Caesarean Rates. Why are they so variable, how can we categorise and study what is happening , what are the reasons for a Caesarean birth, why are they such a controversial topic? More information: National Sentinel CS audit 1624 RCOG NSCS Audit Robson Classification WHO implementation https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/han...

Obstetrics can be an ethical minefield , what is considered ethical varies with our own personal beliefs, where in the world we practice, legislation, societal opinion and many other issues. Listen to me to discuss the issues surrounding Down's syndrome screening in the UK how it has evolved over time , and how changing attitudes may influence it in the future For more information you may lik...

Happy New Year ! A traditional time for resolutions, so as we step into 2021 what action can we take to improve maternity care. Some ideas:   http://matexp.org.uk/the-matexp-journey/putting-the-heart-into-matexp-heart-values/   https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/news/campaigns-and-opinions/race-equality-taskforce/five-steps-for-healthcare-professionals/ You can find out more about me on Twitter @FWmaterni...

Maternity care doesn't stop just because its Christmas. Find out what it is like working over the Festive period. This is my final episode for 2020. I would like to wish all my listeners well over the festive period and do hope you will join me again for me next episode on 2nd Jan to jump start 2021! You can find out more about me on Twitter @FWmaternity & @TheObsPod as well as Instagram...

What is induction of labour? Why is it so often suggested to women as a treatment for a problem in pregnancy? What are the downsides? For more reading on induction here are some useful links: https://www.cochrane.org/CD004945/PREG_induction-labour-women-normal-pregnancies-or-beyond-37-weeks https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg70/chapter/1-Guidance#recommended-methods-for-induction-of-labour   https...

Are vaginal examinations necessary in labour, we professionals take them for granted, what are they for , how useful can they be and what do women need to know? More reading: https://www.cochrane.org/CD010088/routine-vaginal-examinations-in-labour https://www.cochranelibrary.com/es/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010088/full/es   https://midwifethinking.com/2016/06/15/the-anterior-cervical-lip-how-to-...

Learn how we try and reach a diagnosis & listen to a discussion on  how  important are the investigations or tests we do along the way? Thank you all for listening,  My name is Florence Wilcock I am an NHS doctor working as an obstetrician, specialising in the care of both mother and baby during pregnancy and birth. If you have enjoyed my podcast please do continue to subscribe, rate, review a...

How do clinicians work with hospital managers? what are relationships like and what about clinical management posts how do they feel? You can find out more about me on Twitter @FWmaternity & @TheObsPod please check out #MatExp matexp.org.uk for ideas about how to improve maternity experience.    My beautiful artwork is thank to Anna Geyer www.newpossibilities.co.uk Thank you all for listening,...

What happens when a baby is bottom down or breech at the end of pregnancy? Can we encourage it to turn and what are the options for birth if it won't? Want to try and turn your baby? https://www.spinningbabies.com/pregnancy-birth/baby-position/breech/ Cochrane ECV https://pregnancy.cochrane.org/sites/pregnancy.cochrane.org/files/public/uploads/cochrane-review-of-ecv-at-term.pdf Interested in...

How do we use data to support practice? Do we pick and choose what stats we share & what happens if we delve into some of the numbers in a little more detail? You can find out more about me on Twitter @FWmaternity  & @TheObsPod please check out #MatExp matexp.org.uk for ideas about how to improve maternity experience.    My beautiful artwork is thank to Anna Geyer www.newpossibilities.co.u...

Why does it seem like we are offering induction to more women for a big baby? Are babies getting bigger ? What drives us to offer intervention? If you want to know more detail about the topics discussed in this episode these links may help:   https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng121/evidence/evidence-review-q-largeforgestationalage-baby-pdf-241806242780 Fetal growth surveillance current guidelines p...

One of the first questions asked when a woman announces a pregnancy is 'when is it due?' How do we come up with the Expected Date of Delivery or EDD when a baby is due , is it accurate, is it  important? How much control do women have over the arrival of their baby and its eventual date of birth?  If you are interested in reading more about this topic here are a couple of links to explor...

This week how does it feel to be a consultant, how can we be responsible for everything yet not overwhelmed by this responsibility? How can we support new consultants as they step up & take this responsibility on? You can find out more about me on Twitter @FWmaternity and @TheObsPod please check out #MatExp matexp.org.uk for ideas about how to improve maternity experience.    My beautiful artw...

Warning this episodes deals with a sensitive and emotional subject. This week 9-15th Oct is Baby Loss Awareness week 2020 : https://babyloss-awareness.org/events/ Sadly not all of maternity care is happy. A small number of babies die in the womb or shortly after birth. This episode is dedicated to them and their families. If you need support with this episode https://www.sands.org.uk/ Please do ch...

This week is a little different. I want to talk about the inequality in outcomes for Black and Asian mothers and babies identified in Mbrrace reports that monitor maternity outcomes in the UK. Its a difficult issue to tackle from my position as a white obstetrician, but I wanted to as its far too important a topic to ignore. Grace, a midwife I work with has started her ' Brown Mama, Brown me&...

What's in a name? This episode talks about using our names to introduce ourselves , knowing the names of other members of the team and knowing the name of women we care for. Not rocket science! Resources you might find helpful that I mention in this episode are: https://www.hellomynameis.org.uk/ https://theatrecaps.com/ https://ppestickers.com/ You can find out more about me on Twitter @FWmat...

In my second episode focused on language we use I discuss abbreviations and jargon. Why do we use them? Are there alternatives? Can we make the maternity notes more intelligible to women? If you haven't already done so please do listen to Episode 23 Language part 1 and take a look at the links in the programme notes. You can find out more about me on Twitter @FWmaternity & @TheObsPod plea...

Language we use can have a big and sometimes unintentionally detrimental impact. This is such a large topic i am going to focus on it for two episodes. This week I talk about common phrases or words we use that can mean something very different to the women and families on the receiving end. Here is some excellent further reading if you are interested in exploring this in more depth. https://whose...

Hang on I thought I was training to be a doctor, so how did I end up spending so much time teaching ? What do I teach, how do we teach? I mention a couple of maternity teaching programes in this episode but these are just examples there are others and of course you can design your own teaching sessions too: https://www.promptmaternity.org/ https://www.alsg.org/en/files/KFactsheet.pdf You can find...

What does lithotomy mean, why is lithotomy position commonly used for birth in western countries & what can we do about this? To explore the issues raise din this episode please check out #lithotomychallenge on twitter & read the following blogs http://matexp.org.uk/matexp-and-me/the-matexp-lithotomy-challenge/ http://matexp.org.uk/the-matexp-journey/lithotomychallenge-on-nhsdoathon-day/ Y...

When did ultrasound become such an important tool in obstetrics and how do obstetricians learn to understand those grey fuzzy images? What are we looking at and how do we interpret what we see? You can find out more about me on Twitter @FWmaternity and @TheObsPod please check out #MatExp matexp.org.uk for ideas about how to improve maternity experience.    My beautiful artwork is thank to Anna Gey...

What about maternal mental health ? What role do we play as obstetricians in caring for women's mental health?  Find out how some of the national focus on maternal mental health is implemented on the ground. If you are interested watch our series of videos from our 2018 #MatExp MindNBody 'Whose shoes' project:  http://matexp.org.uk/the-matexp-journey/mindnbody-advent-2018/ You can f...

Find out how we hand over at the beginning and end of a shift and why ward rounds are important to me. Learn about SBAR a structured hand over tool we use You can find out more about me on Twitter @FWmaternity & @TheObsPod please check out #MatExp matexp.org.uk for ideas about how to improve maternity experience.    My beautiful artwork is thank to Anna Geyer www.newpossibilities.co.uk Thank y...