The practising midwife
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Baby massage has become increasingly popular in the West among parents and healthcare practitioners alike, with numerous studies continuing to hail the benefits of taking time to massage and bond with your baby. Newborn and infant massage is of particular interest to midwives in their primary role, helping families to bond and heal the pain of traumatic births, but now many midwives are offering baby massage sessions privately in their spare time also. Here's the low down.
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The aim of this bi-monthly column is to highlight Cochrane Systematic Reviews of relevance to pregnancy and childbirth and to stimulate discussion on the relevance and implications of the review for practice. The Cochrane Collaboration is an international organisation that prepares and maintains high quality systematic reviews to help people make well-informed decisions about healthcare and health policy. ⋯ The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) is published monthly online. Residents in countries with a national license to The Cochrane Library, including the UK and Ireland, can access the Cochrane Library online free through www.thecochranelibrary.com.
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In the awful circumstances of the death of a mother or baby around childbirth, midwives need to be prepared for what happens afterwards. This article sets out some top tips for midwives appearing at a coroner's court with practical advice from Peter Straker, Coroner for West Yorkshire (Western District). You should be respectful, say how very sorry you are for the death, dress well, make sure you read your notes before the hearing and of course be open, honest and truthful. You must also be prepared to answer questions from the family of the deceased as well as from the Coroner.
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The practising midwife · May 2012
TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) for labour pain.
Because TENS is applied inconsistently and not always in line with optimal TENS application theory, this may explain why TENS for labour pain appears to be effective in some individuals and not in others. This article reviews TENS theory, advises upon optimal TENS application for labour pain and discusses some of the limitations of TENS research on labour pain. ⋯ As pain increases, TENS intensity should be increased and as pain decreases, TENS intensity should be reduced to maintain a strong but pain free intensity of stimulation. This application may particularly reduce back pain during labour.