Updated list-in-progress here. Shamed but not named: bad medics use law to hide their identities Paying for negligence: Birth bungles cost $115m in NSW alone Hypervirulent strain of Clostridium difficile in Epworth Hospital in Richmond Melbourne Scared nurses’ secret evidence of intimidation No room at the hospital for sick toddler Hospital blunder turns into family [...]

Tags: caesarean risks, hospital risks, maternal mortality
Filed under: careproviders, consumers, consumers' rights, surgical discourse, surgical monopoly

Thanks, Gloria, for sharing this on your blog. How many of us know all the stuff in this video? I sure didn’t! The increase of emergency hysterectomy after caesarean is quite marked in Australia in recent years. What does your uterus really do?

Tags: hysterectomy, reproductive health
Filed under: consumers, consumers' rights

Birth, she is dying. This primal and unspeakably powerful initiation, the only road to motherhood for our ancestors, has been stripped of her dignity and purpose in our times. Birth has become a dangerous medical disease to be treated with escalating levels, and types, of technological interventions. Healing birth, healing the earth (1996) So am [...]

Tags: birth in Australia, homebirth science not obstetric superstition, human rights, reproductive freedom
Filed under: Uncategorised, consumers, consumers' rights

I support a lot of women to find their way through personal and political gunk and reach a point where they can birth their babies in nice simple births.As the end of pregnancy draws near I encourage women to start thinking about how they’re going to manage the early stages of the new breastfeeding relationship [...]

Tags: babywearing, breastfeeding, cosleeping
Filed under: consumers, feminism, homebirth, parenting, surgical monopoly

A first time birthing woman I know has been managing the fear others are feeling around her upcoming birth by choosing to present some facts for those who haven’t yet found out that obstetrics is mostly antiquated nonsense. I found her thoughts and perspective interesting given my own perspective as a writer and birth attendant [...]

Tags: first time homebirther, induction
Filed under: consumers, consumers' rights, feminism, surgical discourse, surgical monopoly

The “Quality and Safety Framework” has been released. For something supposedly produced after hours of consultation and furrowed brows crouched over our hot submissions, it looks remarkably like all the other dross produced by the government and fellow travellers around this issue. Screw women, screw midwives, tell everyone a lot of bullshit, ahhh job well [...]

Filed under: consumers, consumers' rights, feminism, homebirth, homebirth campaign, midwives, midwifery, reproductive justice

The “quality and safety framework” has been released. My response looks like this: Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com The real birth wars

Tags: commentary that bites, homebirth science not obstetric superstition, human rights, misinformation campaign, obstetric monopoly, personhood of the foetus, pesky pesce, reproductive freedom
Filed under: bullshit, careproviders, consumers, consumers' rights, homebirth campaign, midwives, midwifery, reproductive justice, surgical discourse, surgical monopoly

Welcome to the May Carnival of Natural Parenting: Role model This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have waxed poetic about how their parenting has inspired others, or how others have inspired them. Please read to the [...]

Tags: inspiration, rest
Filed under: consumers, consumers' rights, just for fun, parenting

While under no illusions whatsoever that submitting anything  for consumers has anything to do with the process to dismantle homebirth, I still have to do it. We are still here, and we’re not going anywhere. This week’s treat is the new “framework” for “eligible” midwives even though as yet there’s no information on what exactly [...]

Filed under: Uncategorised, careproviders, consumers, consumers' rights, feminism, homebirth, homebirth campaign, midwives, midwifery, reproductive justice

Weep as you read about VBAC in the US (and not too far off what it’s like here) Childbirth without choice It would seem perfectly natural that a woman could give birth naturally if she wants to. Guess what? She can’t. An increasing number of hospitals in this country are refusing to offer women the [...]

Tags: breastfeeding, land of the free home of the surgically incapacitated, more humourless feminism, vbac
Filed under: consumers, consumers' rights, just for fun, reproductive justice, surgical monopoly