The topic for this episode is the Golden Hour, and the team are joined by student midwife Aimee Honeysett and midwife and midwifery lecturer Ola Ogbuehi as they consider the physiology of the first hour after birth and some of the practices which may be more or less helpful during this time.ResourcesEyal Abraham, Talma Hendler, Orna Zagoory-Sharon, Ruth Feldman,Interoception sensitivity in the parental brain during the first months of parenting modulates children's somatic symptoms six years later: The role of oxytocin,International Journal of Psychophysiology, Volume 136, 2019, Pages 39-48, ISSN 0167-8760,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2018.02.001. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167876017303185)Care Quality Commission (2020) 2019 Survey of women's experiences of maternity care: statistical release. https://www.cqc.org.uk/sites/default/files/20200128_mat19_statisticalrelease.pdfChristensson, K., Siles, C., Moreno, L., Belaustequi, A., De La Fuente, P., Lagercrantz, H., Puyol, P. & Winberg, J. (1992) Temperature, metabolic adaptation and crying in healthy full-term newborns cared for skin-to-skin or in a cot. Acta Paediatrica, 81 (6-7), 488-493.Moore, E. R., Anderson, G. C., Bergman, N. & Dowswell, T. (2012) Early skin-to-skin contact for mothers and their healthy newborn infants. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (5), N.PAG.Jennifer L. Neczypor, Sharon L. Holley, Providing Evidence-Based Care During the Golden Hour, Nursing for Women's Health, Volume 21, Issue 6, 2017, Pages 462-472 Odent M (2002) The First Hour Following Birth: Don’t Wake the Mother! Midwifery Today, Issue 61, Spring 2002. Mikko J. Peltola, Lane Strathearn, Kaija Puura, Oxytocin promotes face-sensitive neural responses to infant and adult faces in mothers, Psychoneuroendocrinology, Volume 91,2018, Pages 261-270, ISSN 0306-4530, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.02.012.(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306453017311927)

In this episode of the Tea & Toast podcast, the team discuss mental health and mental ill health before and after birth. Joined by midwifery lecturer and researcher Dr. Catriona Jones, they discuss why this can be such a vulnerable time for parents' mental health and consider what strategies and support might help. Accessing support around mental health in the perinatal periodIf you have any concerns about your own or someone else's mental health before or after birth, the team strongly recommend you talk to one of your healthcare team - who you pick within the team is less important than choosing someone you feel comfortable talking to.If you feel you need further support, or just want to know more about mental health issues around birth, a wide variety of organisations work in this area. Some of these include:Mind https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/postnatal-depression-and-perinatal-mental-health/about-maternal-mental-health-problems/Maternal Mental Health Alliancehttps://maternalmentalhealthalliance.org/about/the-issue/Family Actionhttps://www.family-action.org.uk/what-we-do/early-years/perinatal-support-services/Pandas (support with postnatal depression)https://pandasfoundation.org.uk/

Episode 6 of the Tea & Toast podcast sees the team considering the use of complementary and alternative medicine and therapies in pregnancy and birth. Joined by midwifery lecturer and researcher Dr. Catriona Jones, they discuss why women might choose to use complementary therapies, have a look at some of the issues around evidence and contemplate the role of the midwife in this area.ReferencesDekker, R. (2018) Aromatherapy during labor for pain relief. Evidence Based Birth [blog post] https://evidencebasedbirth.com/aromatherapy-for-pain-relief-during-labor/Hall HG. Griffiths DL. McKenna LG (2011) “The use of complementary and alternative medicine by pregnant women: a literature review.” Midwifery 27(6):817-24Jones C, Marsh J (2015) Complementary and alternative medicines applied to maternity care. In Fundamentals in Midwifery. Jones C. (2012) Complementary and alternative medicine in the maternity setting10, British Journal of Midwifery, Vol 20, No 6, pp 409 – 418.Jones, C. (2011) The efficacy of lavender oil on perineal trauma: A review of the evidence.11 Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice (in press), Vol 17 (4), pp 215 – 220.Jones, C. (2009) Safety of lavender oil in the treatment of perineal trauma12. British Journal of Midwifery, 17 (9), 567–570 NICE (2019) Antenatal care for uncomplicated pregnancies. Available from: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg62/chapter/1-guidance#management-of-common-symptoms-of-pregnancyRoyal College of Midwives (2017) Position Statement Complementary Therapies and Natural Remedies. Available from:https://www.rcm.org.uk/media/2304/complementary-therapies-and-natural-remedies.pdfSmith  CA, Collins  CT, Levett  KM, Armour  M, Dahlen  HG, Tan  AL, Mesgarpour  B. Acupuncture or acupressure for pain management during labour. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2020, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD009232. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD009232.pub2. Accessed 11 January 2021.Smith  CA, Collins  CT, Crowther  CA. Aromatherapy for pain management in labour. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2011, Issue 7. Art. No.: CD009215. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD009215. Accessed 11 January 2021.Tiran, D. (2018) Complementary Therapies in Maternity Care: an evidence based approach. London: Singing Dragon

This episode of Tea & Toast: Talking Birth looks at one of the most common interventions in modern maternity care - induction of labour. We consider how and why labour might be induced and consider the experiences of Leanne, who had her first labour induced, and Sarah, a third year student midwife, and how she has found offering and undertaking inductions.ReferencesDagustun, J. (2012) Beware the dead baby card. AIMS Journal. 24(3). Available online:https://www.aims.org.uk/journal/item/beware-the-dead-baby-cardde Vaan, M.D.T., ten Eikelder, M.L.G., Jozwiak, M., Palmer, K.R., Davies‐Tuck, M., Bloemenkamp, K.W.M., Mol, B.W.J.& Boulvain, M. Mechanical methods for induction of labour. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2019, Issue 10. Art. No.: CD001233. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001233.pub3. Available online: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001233.pub3/fullHall, W.A., Tomkinson, J. & Tomkinson, M.C.K. (2011) Canadian Care Providers' and Pregnant Women's Approaches to Managing Birth: Minimizing Risk While Maximizing Integrity Qualitative Health Research DOI: 10.1177/1049732311424292 Published online 22 September 2011 Middleton, P., Shepherd, E., Morris, J., Crowther, C.A. & Gomersall, J.C. Induction of labour at or beyond 37 weeks' gestation. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2020, Issue 7. Art. No.: CD004945. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004945.pub5.Available online: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004945.pub5/fullNational Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) (2008, updated 2017) Clinical guideline CG70: Inducing Labour. London: NICE. Available online: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg70Wickham, S. (2019) Induction and synchronised swimming: Mary Cronk words of wisdom [Blog post] Available online: https://www.sarawickham.com/quotes-and-shares/induction-and-synchronised-swimming/

A special edition of Tea & Toast for the new academic year, this episode features two of our student midwives at the end of their first year of the programme as we reflect upon professionalism, what it means in midwifery and how it impacts on the experience of childbearing women and their families through pregnancy and birth.ResourcesHalldorsdottir, S. & Karlsdottir, S. (2011) The primacy of the good midwife in midwifery services: an evolving theory of professionalism in midwifery. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences.  25; 806–817.Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2018) The Code: professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses, midwives and nursing associates. London: NMC. https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/nmc-publications/nmc-code.pdfNursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2018) Enabling professionalism in nursing and midwifery practice. London: NMC.https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/other-publications/enabling-professionalism.pdf

The Tea & Toast team are delighted to bring you June's episode, which considers issues around freebirth. As result of pressures during the COVID-19 pandemic, some maternity services have suspended access to home birth or midwifery led units, meaning that some women may not be able to access the place of birth that they had planned. It seems possible that this has led to an increase in the number of women opting for freebirth / unassisted birth, and this month the team ponder some of the issues this may raise.Episode 3 - FreebirthResourcesAIMS (2020) Freebirth, unassisted childbirth and unassisted pregnancy. https://www.aims.org.uk/information/item/freebirthFeeley C, Burns E, Adams E, Thomson G.(2015) Why do some women choose to freebirth? A meta-thematic synthesis, part one. Evidence Based Midwifery. 13(1):4–9Feeley, C., Thomson, G. (2016) Why do some women choose to freebirth in the UK? An interpretative phenomenological study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 16 (59) Claire Feeley, C. & Thomson, G. (2016) Tensions and conflicts in ‘choice’: women’s experiences of freebirthing in the UK. Midwifery. 41, 16-21. Nightingale, L. (2011) Midwives are an unevaluated intervention in birth. Midwifery Matters. 130. Renfrew, M. J., Homer, C. S. E., Downe, S., McFadden, A., Muir, N., Prentice, T., ten Hoope-Bender, P. (2014) Midwifery: An Executive Summary for The Lancet’s Series, The Lancet, June 2014. Royal College of Midwives (2020) RCM Clinical Briefing Sheet: ‘freebirth’ or ‘unassisted childbirth’ during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.rcm.org.uk/media/3904/freebirth_draft_23-april-v5-002-mrd-1.pdf

The Tea & Toast team are delighted to bring you May's episode, which looks at childbirth and time, especially around the latent phase of labour, inspired by an extract from Trudy Stevens' chapter 'Time and Midwifery Practice' in Childbirth, Midwifery and Concepts of Time.Episode 2 - About Time and BirthResourcesArmstrong, P. & Feldman, S. (2017) A Midwife’s Story: life, love and birth among the Amish. (3rd ed.) London: Pinter & MartinBeake, S., Chang, Y.S., Cheyne, H., Spiby, H., Sandall, J. and Bick, D., (2017). Experiences of early labour management from perspectives of women, labour companions and health professionals: A systematic review of qualitative evidence. Midwifery.Buckley, S. (2015) Hormonal Physiology of Childbearing: Evidence and Implications for Women, Babies, and Maternity Care. Available from: https://www.nationalpartnership.org/our-work/resources/health-care/maternity/hormonal-physiology-of-childbearing.pdfHundley V A, Wray S, Cheyne H, Janssen P, Gross M, Spiby H (2017) Defining the latent phase of labour: is it important? Evidence Based Midwifery 15(3) 89-94 Incerti M, Locatelli A, Ghidini A, Ciriello E, Consonni S, Pezzullo JC. Variability in rate of cervical dilation in nulliparous women at term. Birth 2011;38(1):30‐5.Kirim, S., Asicioglu, O., Yenigul, N., Aydogan, B., Bahat, N. & Bayrak, M. (2015) Effect of intravenous hyoscine-N-butyl bromide on active phase of labor progress: a randomized double blind placebo controlled trial, The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, 28:9, 1038-1042, DOI: 10.3109/14767058.2014.942628 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) (2014) Intrapartum care for health women and babies. Available from: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg190/chapter/recommendations#definitions-of-the-latent-and-established-first-stages-of-labourRohwer, A., Khondowe, O. & Young, T. (2013) Cochrane review: antispasmodics for labour. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD009243.pub3 Spiby, H & team, ATELSA 2008 'Improving care at the primary/secondary interface: a trial of community-based support in early labour (ELSA). Report for the National Co-ordinating Centre for NHS Service Delivery and Organisation R&D (NCCSDO)'Stevens, T. (2009) Time and Midwifery Practice in McCourt, C. (ed.) Childbirth, Midwifery and Concepts of Time. New York: Berghahn Tilden E L, Phillippi J C , Ahlberg M (2019) Describing latent phase duration and associated characteristics among 1281 low risk women in spontaneous labour Birth 46: 592-601Walsh D (2000) Evidence based care: part three: assessing women’s progress in labour British Journal of Midwifery. 8:7 pp. 449-57  World Health Organisation (WHO) (2018) Intrapartum care for a positive childbirth experience. Available from: https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/intrapartum-care/en/Zhang J, Troendle J, Mikolajczyk R, Sundaram R, Beaver J, Fraser W. The natural history of the normal first stage of labor. Obstetrics and Gynecology 2010;115(4):705‐10.Zhang J, Landy HJ, Branch DW, Burkman R, Haberman S, Gregory KD, et al. Contemporary patterns of spontaneous labor with normal neonatal outcomes. Obstetrics and Gynecology 2010;116(6):1281‐7.

For our first ever episode, the team discuss what a positive birth experience means, and what steps women, midwives and students can take which might help achieve it.Podcast Episode 1: A Positive Birth ExperienceResourcesCronk, M. (2010) The Midwife: a professional servant? In Kirkham, M. (ed.) The Midwife-Mother Relationship. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 55-65.Dahlberg, U. & Aune, I. (2013) The woman's birth experience -the effect of interpersonal relationships and continuity of care. Midwifery. 29(4), 407-415. Hildingsson, I., Cederlöf, L. & Widén, S. (2011) Fathers’ birth experience in relation to midwifery care. Women and Birth. 24(3), 129-136.Hill M (2019) Give Birth like a Feminist: Your Body. Your Baby. Your Choices London HQ Hodnett, E. D. (2000) Caregiver support for women during childbirth. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD000199Hodnett, E. D., Gates, S., Hofmeyr, G. J. & Sakala, C. (2012) Continuous support for women during childbirth. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD003766.pub5Kay A (2017) This is Going to Hurt London PicadorRijnders, M.,Baston, H.,Schönbeck, Y.,van der Pal, K.,Prins, M.,Green, J. &Buitendijk, S. (2008) Perinatal factors related to negative or positive recall of birth experience in women 3 years postpartum in the Netherlands. Birth. 35(2), 107-116.The Positive Birth Movement -https://www.positivebirthmovement.org/World Health Organization (WHO) (2018) Making Childbirth a Positive Experience. Available from:https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/intrapartum-care/en/(accessed 26/3/20)