The AIMS Journal, published quarterly, spearheads discussions about change and development in the maternity services. It is highly regarded both by parents - who find it an excellent source of information and support - and by workers in maternity care.
When you join AIMS you automatically get the AIMS Journal sent to you quarterly. You are also welcome to subscribe to the Journal without becoming a member of AIMS
The full text of some of the articles and reviews the Journal are available on the website, others are only currently available in printed form. Back issues of the Journal can be purchased; please see the publications page for details.
There is also a website search facility which can be used to find topics of interest.
There are also some additional website articles that are available only on the website
Midwifery for the 21st Century - Action Now - What you can do to support the One Mother One Midwife campaign for the implementation of the NHS Community Midwifery Model. Includes suggested draft letters and contact details for people who need to be influenced and challenged.
Home Birth including
There is a smart drug - it's called breast milk Article by Johann Hari which appear in The Independent 19 June 2008
Suck On This - the shocking truth about the baby junk food industry Article by Pat Thomas, previous editor of the AIMS Journal, in the Ecologist, April 2006, p22-33.
Healthcare Commission Complaints Consultation - AIMS' response 16th September, 2005
Medication and the unborn child? - The following paper was presented by Beverley Lawrence Beech to the Second International Conference of Midwives in Budapest, Hungary, on the 27th October 2004.
Professional Indemnity Insurance - AIMS' response to the Nursing and Midwifery Council proposals.
Making a Complaint about Maternity Care - this AIMS occasional paper guides you through the procedures.
Successful home birth despite 'low' iron count - woman challenges health authority policy.
Update on the UKCC Position Statement on Home Birth - 31 March 2001
Choosing a Waterbirth - excerpts from Beverley Beech's booklet
Choosing a Home Birth - excerpts from the booklet by Pat Thomas
Twins - Twice by Beverley Beech. Active birth or caesarean section?
Misoprostol (Cytotec) Health Warning - This drug has crept into use in British maternity units, but is not licensed for induction of labour. See also the AIMS Journal Vol 13 Number 3 for more articles about Misoprostol.
You will find that for each journal the lead article, the reseach roundup and at least one other article have been included on the website. Printed backcopies of the journal are available for purchase. Please see the publications page for details.
Midwifery - running down the drain
Beverley Beech looks at the threat to birthing choice in the UK
Clare Fisher - the Welsh witch-hunt
AIMS Chair Beverley Beech reports
Jury of your peers?
Midwifery lecturer Sarah Davies reports on the NMC’s case against Deborah Purdue
NCT reveals crucial choice guarantee set to be missed by a mile
NCT Press Office
High-risk home birth
Angela Horn looks at the information available to women
ConfidentWomen Experience Better Childbirth
Carolyn Woodward reports on the independent conference for professionals, that took place on 7 November 2009
Why?
Ameena
A big thank you
Jennifer Mountain shares how she got supportive care for her home birth
Albany Midwives Axed
Update on Albany from the Albany parents group
Book Reviews:
Also in this issue:
Editorial - Whose baby?
Jean Robinson explains how and why AIMS supports familes faced with a whole new threat
Changing Shaken Baby Syndrome to Abusive Head Trauma
Jean Robinson considers the politics behind the name
Who is defining child abuse?
Sue Reid speaks out about the secrecy of forcible adoption
Campaigning in Australia
Debbie Slater looks at improving maternity services for women in her new home
Australian midwifery in crisis
Sharon Licqurish looks at the insurance nightmare facing Australian midwives and women
Safeguarding Children Protocols
Beverley Beech highlights just how scary things are getting
Pelvic Girdle Pain (SPD)
Moira Finlayson looks towards early diagnosis, effective treatment and a holistic approach to care for all women affected
Conference Reports
Gone with the Wind
Interpreting media messages about normal childbirth, report by Gill Boden
Born Unequal
The Royal Society of Medicine: Joint meeting between the Forum on Maternity and the
Newborn and Obstetrics and Gynaecology Section. 22nd January 2009, report by Gill Boden
Birthing Choices
Lecture at The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, report by Beverley Beech
Also in this issue:
Using Social Services as a lever
Second time mum Rosie was threatened for declining health visiting services
A Positive Perspective
Kath Davies shares what difference is made by the attitude of those providing care
Home birth after caesarean
Susan Jackson shares her search for a midwife who believed in her
Editorial - So what's your problem?
Alice Charlwood wonders why so few women complain about poor maternity care
Complaining about complaints
Maria C - One woman's courageous search for answers
Postnatal care
Ingrid Wall talks about her experience of using the PALS service to complain
Birth space, safe place: environment, people and attitudes to pain during labour
Adela Stockton explores our perception of pain
The power of user pressure
MSLC Chair Michelle Barnes campaigns successfully to reduce the caesarean rate in Sheffield
A story from the north
Alison Philp shares the story of her birth and complaint outcomes
Obituaries
Dr Betty Tylden
Lady Mickelthwaite
Complaints are heard
Journal Editor Vicki Williams reports on some actions taken in response to complaints
Denied a home birth Sara Shah tells her story of staff shortages and lack of choice
What makes a good birth?
Jenny Gaskell shares a story of tragedy, triumph and the value of good support, a story which
suggests we question what actually defines a good birth experience
Also in this issue:
Editorial - Believing in Normal
Lee Seekings Norman looks at some of the issues surrounding supportive midwifery
Increasing home birth is vital
Denis Walsh looks at the future of maternity services in the UK
Home Birth: Why take the risk?
Colleen Walk responds
James's home birth
Rolla Khadduri describes a calm and peaceful birth
Making normal birth a reality
Beverley Lawrence Beech looks at the Normal Birth Consensus Statement
The birth of a new baby - Independent Midwives UK
Steering Group member Annie Francis looks at the issue of insurance
My journey to Independent Midwifery
Katie Wainwright shares her path to providing one to one care
Revolutionising maternity care in this country - a guide to how to do it!
Annie Francis & Louise Wilby
Confessions of a campaigner: of Postcards and Primary Care Trusts
Ruth Weston invites you to campaign for better maternity care
The power of BOBB - Elke Heckel looks at screening the Business of Being Born
Conference Reports
Passionate Midwifery: A day to celebrate the life and work of Tricia Anderson 1961-2007
Saturday 14 June, Bournemouth University
Nadine Edwards
Film Review - The business of being born; reviewed by Julie Dawid
Also in this issue:
The IMA's Search For Professional Indemnity Insurance
Home birth, the normal option
AIMS Vice Chair Nadine Edwards looks at what helps and hinders normal birth
Negotiating a Normal Birth
Nadine Edwards discusses some of the negotiations women face when planning a home birth
Home Birth in Holland
Dutch ENCA member Thea van Tuyl dispels some of the myths about why Holland has such a
high home birth rate
Home Birth and Normality
Midwife and mother of two Sarah Davies reflects
Sheffield Home Birth Conference 2008
Michelle Barnes
Changing the Way the Wind Blows
Presentation by Ruth Weston
Safe Births: Everybody's Business
Nadine Edwards
AIMS AGM Report
Catherine Williams
An Impossible Dream?
Melanie Hughes describes her journey to a home birth after four caesarean sections
Editorial - Looking at European Care
Beverley Lawrence Beech highlights the similarities and differences in maternity care across Europe
AIMS in Ireland
Anne Matthews and Jene Kelly look at the challenges for maternity services in Ireland
Maternity care in Luxembourg
Maryse Arendt gives an overview of the situation for mothers in her country
The Hungarian state of affairs of non-institutionalised birth
Ágnes Geréb highlights the difficulties faced by women and their birth attendants
Maternity care in Portugal
Mary Zwart offers a brief overview of maternity services available to Portuguese women
The perinatal situation in Italy
Piera Maghella looks at Italy's maternity statistics
German Birth Centres
Elisabeth Geisel says Germany is leading the way
The Spanish Situation
Andrea Anguera & Angela Müller look at the medical attitude to birth in Spain and efforts to support midwifery and normal birth
The Netherlands
Childbirth educator Thea van Tuyl highlights the highs and lows of maternity care in Holland
Bosnia & Hercegovina
Adisa Hotic describes medicalised and expensive maternity care
Childbirth in Poland
Anna Otffinowska says things are starting to improve for Polish women and their midwives
Also in this issue:
Emergency Caesarean - Joanne Wassell describes the birth of her fourth baby
Editorial - Culture Clash
Gina Lowdon explores the implications of cultural perspectives on mothering
Birth of Mutual Understanding and Respect
Tamara Parnay looks at cultivating an empathic environment for the sharing of our birth stories
PTSD After Birth
Midwife Kate Simpson looks at PTSD as a result of oppression
Child Protection
Last August Jean Robinson wrote the following letter to the Department of Health explaining the views of AIMS
Breast is Best
Emily Cox wonders why policy conflicts?
Lies, Damned Lies and Obstetric Opinion
Beverley Lawrence Beech comments on The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists(ACOG) press release about home births
Women as Obstetric Fashion Victims
Jane Wright highlights her paper delivered to the Northern Ireland NCT AGM and conference, 13th October 2007, Belfast
Choosing Midwifery Only Care
Caroline Cordery's quest to get the care she wanted
Also in this issue:
Michelle's Story
Editorial - Defining and recording normal birth
AIMS Chair Beverley Lawrence Beech looks for a more accurate definition of normality
Making normal birth a reality
National Childbirth Trust press release 15th November 2007
How to ask the wrong question to get the 'right' answer
Debbie Chippington Derrick questions the Healthcare Commission's Review of Maternity Services 2007
Informed consent
A consent form for women who intend 'delivering' in hospital
Download a pdf of this article
The journey to hospital
Independent Midwife Bridget Sheeran explores the experiences of women travelling long distances from home to hospital in labour
The state of the NHS
Letter to Gordon Brown from AIMS Chair Beverley Beech about the poor state of the Maternity Services, which was also signed by The Independent
Midwives Association and Professor Wendy Savage
The Department of Health responded on behalf of Mr Brown...
When normality is forgotten
Independent Midwife Lynn Walcott reflects on what led her to practice outside the NHS system
More cuts?
Gillian Crossley tells of yet another maternity unit threatened with cuts
Birth in Poole
Sandra Ryder describes her experience in a sadly all too frequent story of unheard trauma
Also in this issue:
'Lack of Caring in the Care' reported by CEMACH;
Royal Colleges call for more staff on maternity wards;
More feedback for Journal 19 No 1, Birth Trauma
Are you being observed?
AIMS Journal Editor Vicki Williams wonders how much support women are actually getting and
whether it is meeting their needs or those of the professionals involved
Thoughts of hurting the baby
Jean Robinson explores the ultimate taboo
Birth rate drops when obstetricians leave town
Extract from BMJ written by Roger Dobson
The New World Health Organisation Growth Charts
The answer to all our problems with weighing breastfed babies?
Magda Sachs discusses the value of the new WHO Growth Charts
'It is illegal to give birth at home without a midwife.' NO it is NOT
Beverley Lawrence Beech comments on the misinformation about the rights of women and midwives attending a home birth.
Sure Start, a template for empowerment?
AIMS Chair Beverley Lawrence Beech comments on two recent reports
Natural birth after caesarean
Debbie Chippington Derrick describes the reaction of midwives to her VBAC presentation
Recorded Delivery
A national survey of women's experience of maternity care. Reviewed by Michelle Barnes
Intrapartum Care Guideline
Gill Boden reports on the Educational Launch Meeting of the NICE Guideline Intrapartum
Care: Care of healthy women and their babies during childbirth
Home Birth in the News
Michelle Barnes shares how women in Sheffield are supporting themselves and each other
Born in private and in peace
Natasha Hawkes shares the story of her unassisted birth in the Canary Islands
Book Reviews:
Listen With Mother
Beverley Lawrence Beech and Sally Willington discuss how things have changed in almost 50 years of campaigning
Radical Patient Groups
Charlotte Williamson explores the emancipation of patients
A Difficult Choice
Caroline Hollins Martin explores difficulties that midwives face with providing choice and control to childbearing women
Between Agency and Structure
Julie Trottier talks about how difficult it can be for women to challenge the maternity services
UNICEF and Formula Milk Advertising
NCT, Save the Children and UNICEF campaign to encourage our Government to take effective action against the formula
milk companies who are exploiting loopholes in the law to advertise their products
Montrose Maternity Unit
Jo Murphy Lawless visited on of the most women centred facilities in Scotland
Normal Birth in Ireland
Declane Devane challenges us to embrace change and to make birth normal
Stella's Birth
Debra Flynn describes how her midwife's precipitnt action in unnecessarily cutting the the baby's cord resulted in an avoidable transfer into hospital
Also in this issue:
Notes to the Milkman
Editorial
Guest Editors Michelle Barnes and Sarah Stenson introduce this issue and explain their reasons for editing this edition
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Jean Robinson asks,'Where do we go from here?'
Aftershocks
Debbie Chippington Derrick shares the emotional repercussions of the birth of her niece
PTSD after childbirth
Michelle Barnes
My Healing Home Birth After Caesarean
Michelle Barnes talks about her emotionally healing second birth
Traumatised Midwives
Mavis Kirkham discusses why mothers are not the only casualties of the system
Disappointed?
Sarah Stenson tells us why 'disappointment' trivialises the impact of traumatic birth
Battle for Birth
Ros Light reviews the recent Radio 4 broadcast
Support Organisations
Sources of information and support for birth trauma and PTSD
NHS Community Midwifery Model
Brenda van der Kooy describes the journey to implementation and the threat to independent midwifery
Unsupported?
The impact of a disempowering birth
Wounded Mothers
Benig Mauger discusses emotional healing after a traumatic childbirth experience
Healing PTSD
Caroline Spear guides us through the healing potential of homoeopathy
Facing Birth Again
Catherine Williams supports mothers having a baby after trauma
Also in this issue:
Stop Press; Aftershocks; 'Battle for Birth' - reviewed by Ros Light; Recovering from a Traumatic Birth
Looking forward
Vicki Williams and Beverley Beech review the highs and lows of 2006
Consultation Conundrums
Gina Lowdon explores the customer consultation process for the VBAC Guidelines
All Wales Clinical Pathway for Normal Labour
What are the experiences of midwives, doctors and mothers? Gill Bowden reviews the research
Another sham consultation
Beverley Lawrence Beech looks at Safer Childbirth: Minimum Standards for Service Provision and Care in Labour
The UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative
BFI's Sarah Vincent gives a brief overview
But we can't afford it
The NCT have produced a concise guide to the real costs of going 'Baby Friendly'
The transparent NHS
Nadine Edwards guides us through the new 'easy to negotiate' NHS
Maternity units under threat
As our birth centre issue hit the press, this was reported by the BBC
Too Posh to Push
Beverley Beech challenged the Daily Telegraph to print the truth about elective caesarean sections
The beginning of the end?
Newly qualified midwife Kelly Ferris shares her thoughts about her future in the profession
My Home Birth After Caesarean
Daisy Dinwoodie shares Zain Isaac's passage through her into the world
Glasgow isn't normal
Jayne Heron describes the problems that women experience trying to arrange a home birth in Glasgow
Also in this issue:
CERES closes; Bleeding after ultrasound; In the beginning; "Agenda for change?"; Letters
Editorial
Avril Nicoll express her renewed hope for the Birth Centre movement
Seeing the opportunities
Three years on from the publication of her book 'Birth Centres: A Social Model for Maternity Care'
AIMS asked Mavis Kirkham what she would do differently with the book if she were putting it together now...
AIMS comment on free-standing birth centres
On the campaign trail
Free-standing birth centres seem reliant on campaigns, both to start them up and to keep
them going. AIMS talks to a number of activists to find out what drives them and, most
importantly, what works.
Around the UK and Ireland
Report of the current situation with birth centre in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Holding up a mirror: the impact of user involvement
While user involvement is enshrined in government policy across the UK, its patchy
practice reflects the anxiety many professionals feel about the process. But here
Phyllis Winters, midwifery team leader at Montrose Community Maternity Unit,
explains how real user involvement can be a transforming experience for midwives,
women and birth centres.
Everything I'd hoped for
In spite of a difficult first birth, Caroline Rosen chose to have her second son at
Aboyne Community Maternity Unit. She explained why at a seminar organised by
the Save Aboyne Maternity campaign.
Birthing Utopia
The past 18 months have been difficult for many free-standing birth centres and
their supporters. In spite of this Avril Nicoll sees signs that a free-standing birth
centre Utopia is within our grasp - and that it will make a real difference.
Focusing In
Looking at free-standing birth centres around the UK; Brent, Caerphilly, Dover, Lichfield, Perth, Powys and Chorley
Research:
AIMS asks Denis Walsh what papers he considers are essential reading for people
who want to be informed about free-standing birth centres.
Also in this issue:
Sticking with Aboyne...
Breastfeeding
Beverley Beech reviews the uphill battle to breastfeed in a modern society
Nestlé
reporting on their exit from the Perrier Award for Comedy, and their involvement with Body shop
Are You Overfeeding Your Baby?
Jean Walker questions whether our society undermines women's ability to breastfeed by
promoting early weaning, additional feeding with artificial milk and over emphasises weight.
MORI Survey on Breastfeeding
Some results of the National Childbirth Trust commissioned survey of the views of new mothers and
pregnant women in the UK about infant formula advertising.
At the end of the Production Line
Fiona Dykes questions the ability of the hospital system to support breastfeeding and
motherhood.
Codex Alimentarius
Maryse Lehners-Arendt has been battling for many years as a lay-member and consumer
representative to challenge the power of industry and other vested interests to strengthen the
regulations regarding infant feeding products such as baby milk composition and marketing.
What "they" say about breastfeeding
Suzanna Nock shares some priceless breastfeeding comments...
Breastfeeding mums NOT "Lovin' It"
McDonald's gets the Booby Prize, the NCT award for the least friendly place in
Britain to breastfeed.
Conference Reports
Making Breastfeeding a Reality; March 20th 2006 at the Royal College of Physicians
Patricia Wise, NCT Breastfeeding Counsellor reports
Breastfeeding Beginning and Beyond; Lactation Consultants of Great Britain Conference, March 25th 2006 at the University of Manchester
Patricia Wise, NCT Breastfeeding Counsellor reports
Tribute to Jean Robinson
Gill Boden pays tribute to Jean Robinson, on her retirement as AIMS Research Officer
I Breastfed my Adopted Baby
Adoptive parent Sarah Lee describes her wonderful breastfeeding experience
Tongue Tied
Gill Vines talks about the difficulties of breastfeeding a baby with tongue tie
Breastfeeding Twins
Sarah Elliott contrasts feeding her first two babies with breastfeeding twins
Parlimentary News
A round-up of maternity issues in Westminster. Extracted from Hansard
Baby Milk Action
Baby Milk Action reports on local and global breastfeeding issues
Why are we still struggling over home birth?
Nadine Edwards challenges us to think about why it is still so difficult for women to
choose to give birth at home.
What is happening in AIMS
A review of what AIMS has been doing over the last few months.
At Last - An NMC Home Birth Circular
Beverley Beech recounts the long consumer battle to ensure that a woman in labour
at home could expect a midwife to attend her when called.
In Brief
Shane Ridley looks at home birth in the press.
Woman with woman - A Doula's story.
Caroline Spear describes her journey to her vocation as a Birth Doula.
Making it Real, Making it Better.
Earlier this year the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts covering Greater Manchester,
East Cheshire and High Peak issued a very glossy document inviting comments
on their proposals for centralising maternity services under the guise of improving
care. AIMS Chair Beverley Beech responds.
Resources - further sources of homebirth support and information.
Do you qualify for a hospital birth?
Despite the evidence that a fit and healthy woman giving birth at
home is no less safe than those who are delivered in hospital, the
staff still persist in giving women who want a home birth a long
list of risks and reasons for persuading them into hospital. Laura
Abbott, practicing independent midwife, has produced a list that all women wanting a hospital birth
should be asked to consider before they agree to the booking.
Aelwyn's Birth Story.
Kerris Casey-St.Pierre shares her three very different birth experiences.
Home water birth against advice.
Sarah Ockwell-Smith, mum to three, Classical Homeopath and HypnoBirthing practitioner,
describes her home water birth following two emergency hospital births.
Excuses, Excuses.
We asked women to tell us why booking a home birth was challenging, here are
some of the reasons given to women...
Allowed a homebirth?
Jo-Anne Berry describes her very quick home births.
Home birth: a new concept?
Shane Ridley reports on the excellent 6th Chichester Home Birth conference in
Bristol on 25th March 2006.
Questionable Home Birth Interventions
One of the problems that we face by encouraging more home
births is the lack of understanding by many hospital-based
midwives of the risk of interventions.
Also in this issue:
Letters; Breech Birth; More than a Game?
Choice - an abused concept that is past its sell-by date
Beverley Beech considers how the public is deceived into believing that choice exists
when in reality choice is an illusion
Booking a Home Water Birth in Glasgow
Jayne Howell wanted a water birth at home but found that a huge number of hurdles
were placed in her way.
You have the right to refuse to see a health visitor
Jo Broughton describes how she gave birth without problems to her 10lb 8oz baby in
Glasgow. She saw no reason to see a health visitor but was then reported to Social Services
Experiences of third stage.
Jill compares the differences between a managed third stage and a normal one.
Waterbirth - changing attitudes
Avril Nicoll, Kirstin Hoggins and Phyllis Winters reflect on the process of change
undergone by the midwives at Montrose community maternity unit where waterbirth
is now more than a choice.
Report your own adverse effects.
Jean Robinson reports on the extension of the yellow card scheme
www.yellowcard.gov.uk for reporting adverse
affects of drugs, to allow patients as well as doctors to report these problems.
Snoring, Sleep Apnoea and Pre-eclampsia
Debbie Chippington Derrick reviews the possible links between pre-eclampsia and sleep problems.
Just a role play?
Alice Charlwood volunteered to play the mother in a workshop on whether women are
allowed to exercise informed choice, and learned first hand how difficult it can be.
Why high episiotomy rates are considered acceptable and even desirable.
Jane Wright explains why midwives, despite the evidence, continue to carry out
routine episiotomies.
Assertiveness - fine in theory, difficult in practice
Earlier this year one of our Committee members, Shane Ridley, circulated some
thoughts on being assertive and compiled a guide to help people think through the
issues. It encouraged a flurry of debate, from which the following thoughts emerged:
Ten years after a stillbirth - how good care can make all the difference.
Shane Ridley describes her experience of the stillbirth of
Katie Eva and how during those times the kindness and
compassion of midwives and doctors made such a
difference. She and her husband had all the support from
professionals that she could have wished for, even though it
was at a time of great sadness.
Blood money for what? The continuing saga
In the AIMS Journal (Vol 16, No 4), Professor Naomi Pfeffer, a sociologist and historian
who researches and writes about human tissue collection and stem cell research and
therapy, explained why unregulated private blood banks threaten to exploit pregnant
women. George Macridis, Managing Director of Future Health Technologies responds.
Do women want midwives or obstetric nurses?
AIMS chair Beverley Beech reflects on the success of the Birmingham Conference.
Do women want midwives or obstetric nurses?
AIMS Vice Chair Nadine Edwards offers extracts based on her talk which embraced the whole
theme of the joint conference between AIMS and the Association of Radical Midwives that took
place on 1 October, 2005 in Birmingham.
Liberating childbirth
Ruth Sharples Weston gave a rousing speech at the Birmingham conference that had everyone
on their feet and clapping by the end. We print the text in full here, as her views from
a mother's perspective embody much of what AIMS campaigns for on a daily basis.
OMOM and IMA CMM: Two Acronyms for Radical Change
Founder of the One Mother, One Midwife OMOM Campaign (OMOM) Laura Abbott explains
the thinking behind the movement, and outlines the Independent Midwives Association's new
Community Midwifery Model (IMA CMM), putting mothers back at the centre of care
Women Helping Women Prisoners
Diana Parkinson, chair of the trustees of Birth Companions, informs AIMS members
about the charity that provides practical and emotional support to women who face
giving birth while in prison.
A Labour of Love?
Lee Seekings-Norman reports back on A Labour of Love? Emotion Work and
Reproduction Conference on 15 /16 September 2005 at the University of Huddersfield.
NICE Guidelines and Appraisals
How we can make a difference
Debbie Chippington Derrick reports on how we can make a difference to the guidelines
and appraisals from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
We're Having a Baby
Vicki Bevan reflects on a beautiful peaceful birth completely at odds with her hospital trauma.
Also in this issue:
Baby Milk Action Boycott; Nestle the winner of the Public Eye Award 2005;
Child neglect re-classified as child abuse; Midwives Supply Ordes; Epilepsy medication.
Help us to save our Birthing Units!
Tina Bolton calls for action in an ongoing campaign to save two Petersfield sites.
Ethics Watch
Jean Robinson reports on the difficult ethical area of "consent" and "informed choice", and calls for an update on the Charter for Ethical Research in Maternity Care.
Who is in control?
AIMS member Vicki Bevan takes a personal and philosophical look at a vital question that will affect every woman during her pregnancy and birth.
Those first six hours
Suzanna Nock outlines why the first few hours of a home birth can never be compared to the hospital experience.
Term Breech Trial follow up
Debbie Chippington Derrick comments on the results of the 2 year follow ups from the Inertnational Randomized Term Breech Trial.
Pick up a Pink Kit
AIMS member Alice Charlwood reviews a video birthing kit for parents and midwives now becoming popular in New Zealand.
Clean but too clinical
AIMS Chair Beverley Beech awards only 2 out of 10 to one of the largest private maternity hospitals in Greece, when invited on a recent ENCA trip.
Delivering a baby under curfew in Palestine
Dr Salwa Al-Katib, an obs/gyn, who lives in Ramallah in the West Bank, never dreamed that she would one day be delivering babies by telephone, but
that is exactly what she found herself doing one early morning during the height of an Israeli incursion.
Promoting public participation: MSLC Workshops
AIMS Honarary Vice Chair Nadine Edwards reports back on an enlightening workshop exploring the role of MSLCs throughout the UK.
Preterm birth: a medical miracle with an emotional cost
Gill Boden reports back on the share of information around Pre-term birth at the Presidential meeting of the Royal Society of Medicine on May 16th.
Keeping Birth Normal
Alice Charlwood reports back on the Midwifery Art of Being with Women in Labour, given at Kings College on June 30th.
Also in this issue:
I Want To Do It My Way
Hands off that breech!
Independent Midwife Mary Cronk MBE makes a plea for more research, and suggests ways to help
women birth their breech babies normally.
Normal Breech Birth in Hospital
Su Hall Jones retells the birth of Nathan Lions Butcher, born by planned caesarean cection in
August 2004 in Colchester General Hospital, which she remembers as a positive experience all round
Planned Breech by Caesarean
Assisted by Independent Midwife Mary Cronk, Rachael Wheatley recounts her personal journey to
birth her breech baby normally - in hospital.
Emergency Breech by Caesarean
Louisa Jones describes the difficulties encountered in hospital on discovery by the midwife
during labour that "it's a breech!".
Why Mothers Die
Jean Robinson concludes her review of the latest Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths for 2000-2002
The Politics of Childbirth
AIMS Chair Beverley Beech deplores the waste of time and energy spent in responding to 'consultation'
requests from quangos, which then fail to act upon what the users want.
Ultrasound
In the last issue, AIMS Chair Beverley Beech reported on ultrasound advertising. We report back on the
response of the Advertising Standards Authority.
AIMS Letters
The article "Health Visitors or Health Police" produced a rash of letters in defence of health visitors that we published in our previous journal. As the debate continues in our postbag, we offer space here to those who have other views.
The National Service Framework
AIMS Vice Chair Nadine Edwards reports back on the debate surrounding the government's National Service Framework launched in September 2004.
Midwifery Units
Jean Robinson shows how a recent report on outcomes in midwifery units and birth centres highlights important questions about the future of women-centred care.
Also in this issue:
What is WHO thinking? The following advert appeared in a midwifery magazine; Papa causes small babies; Parliamentary Questions; Superbugs kill mum 11 weeks after birth.
Why are more mothers dying?
Jean Robinson examines the latest Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Death
in the UK, and suggests that levels of substandard care are contributing to the
rising death toll.
Blood money for what?
Professor Naomi Pfeffer explains why the unregulated private blood banks
threaten to exploit pregnant women
Clamping the umbilical cord
Professor Peter Dunn of Bristol University Medical School argues that, when
collecting umbilical blood for banking, it is important to consider the interests
of the infant. After all, harvesting 100 ml of blood from a newborn is equivalent
to taking 2.5 pints from an adult
Who says ultrasound is safe?
In light of the growing trend for making keepsake videos and DVDs of babies
in utero, AIMS Chair Beverley Beech examines the worrying evidence concerning
the safety of prolonged ultrasound with modern high-powered equipment
Also in this issue:
Still a sore subject - AIMS Chair Beverley Beech was invited to speak in France in May about how the Association has fought a long (and ultimately successful) campaign to ban episiotomy as a routine procedure in the UK; Hurrah for the NHS; The birth of my water baby.
Health Visitors or Health Police?
Jean Robinson reports on how health visiting is increasingly being dominated
by surveillance, not support, with all mothers being assessed for risk of child
abuse at the first meeting
The truth behind the NICE guidelines on caesarean section
Debbie Chippington Derrick, an AIMS member who was part of the Guideline Development Group,
offers insight into the strengths and weaknesses behind this controversial document
What the papers said
Suzanna Nock looks at how all the major national newspapers reported the
NICE Caesarean Guidelines on the 28 April 2004
A brave breech birth
Claudia described the normal breech birth of her daughter
Overdue and over the moon
Miranda describes going into labour at just over 42 weeks
I did it my way
AIMS' Editor Emma Mahony was invited to give a talk at the Royal College of
Medicine for the forum "Normal Birth in the 21st Century", chaired by Dr
Wendy Savage. Here's her perspective, as a mother, on the subject, with illustrations
by The Times cartoonist Jonathan Pugh
Also in this issue:
Medicalised birth in France: Bonjour, Entente Cordiale;
European Network of Childbirth Associations (ENCA) meeting 2004; How AIMS spent its lottery money;
Keeping MUM: Reflections on a campaign to save a maternity unit
NICE Guidelines for caesarean section
Beverley Lawrence Beech reports on the caesarean section guidelines for parents, birth supporters and those
who work in the maternity services, produced by the National Collaborating Centre for Women's and Children's Health
Fetal rights hypocrisy in the US
Ending Secrecy in the UK
Jean Robinson comments on the impications of two landmark court decisions on cases of Munchausen syndrome by proxy
21st-century midwifery: NHS community midwifery models
Annie Francis and Brenda van der Kooy report on a new model of midwifery care, fully supported by AIMS, from the Independent Midwife Association (IMA)
My baby...I want him back!
Women who have had a caesrean section are often separated from their babies, An AIMS member recalls the pain and heartache of that experience.
Checklist for a hospital birth
On the UK Midwifery e-group, there had been a discussion about checklists for home birth. Independent Midwife Laura Abbott (www.homebirth.net)
has come up with one for hospital births
Also in this issue:
Practing midwifery in the 21st century; Choice and home birth; Midwives (RCM) conference
Is it murder to refuse a caesarean?
It's hospital policy...
The language of birth can be very disempowering for women, perhaps no more so, argues Alice Charwood, than when a practitioner
utters this devastating phrase.
Meet the committee
What women think of midwives
Suzanna Nock reviews an eye-opening e-discussion about women's relationships with midwives.
Consultation, consultation, consultation: a cynical view
Elizabeth Key wonders whether consultation between officialdom and consumer groups is a meaningful exercise or a waste of time.
Independent midwives: a luxury for the elite or a necessity for all?
AIMS member Caron Bradshaw argues the case for more independent midwives suggesting that they are a valuable commodity in a maternity service
increasingly unable to provide normal births.
The honorary contract: Chronology of events
Changing Childbirth and maternity services in Scotland
Marisa Lincoln has just completed a study based on in-depth interviews with healthcare practitioners in two Scottish maternity hospitals
distinguished by size and midwifery systems. The article highlights some of the findings
Also in this issue:
Profiting from childbirth?; Stick to your guns; Acknowledging a good experience;
The case of Beatrice carla;
Breech birth: A midwifery approach
AIMS Chair Beverley Lawrence Beech reports from a meeting of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), 19 January 2004, which focused
on the midwifery approach to breech birth.
The war on group B strep
Midwife Sara Wickham provides the background and explores the options open to women diagnosed with bacterial diseases that pose
potential risks to their babies.
Whoops!
Jean robinson draws attention to the risks pregnant women run when seen in Accident and Emergency departments by junior doctors whose
confidence conceals their ignorance of obstetrics and gynaecology.
Things are changing...
AIMS has been at the forefront of campaigning to improve maternity care
for the last 43 years and, for those who've been involved a long time it is sometimes useful to look back at what care was like many years ago, and see
just how many changes have resulted from constant consumer pressure. Jane Wright considers the changes that have taken place in Northern Ireland.
...But things are also the same
Did yours have marmite on?
What's it like to be a volunteer and a Mum? Suzanna Nock enlightens us.
Community maternity unit sets the standard
Avril Nicholl discusses the Scottish Executive's contraversial strategy to increase the number of community maternity units, which has recieved a boost
with news of a remarkable turnround of an existing unit.
Also in this issue:
Through a glass darkly (into the light); Vitamin K; the view from Down Under;
Looking for help; "Am I Allowed?" - new AIMS book says 'Yes, you are'; and Irish Supreme Court highlights
need for reform in maternity care
Challenging the illusion of choice
While many trusts pay lip service to the idea of choice, in reality, most women have no choice at all in the kind of mternity
care they receive. Beverley Lawrence Beech reviews Choice in Matenity services, the Nith Report Session 2003-03, volume 1,
House of Commons Health Commitee - a document that may help change things.
An interview with Marsden Wagner
Eva Labusova, of the Czech birth group, Aperio, interviews Dr Marsden Wagner, author of Pursuing the Birth
Machine and an outspoken opponent of medicalised birth.
The choice is yours - or is it?
How do current definitions of choice fit with women's ethics and ways of decision-making? Nadine Edwards examines the current retoric of 'choice'.
Breast is best - But not at work
Impressions of Japan
Beverely Lawrence Beech reports from the 6th World Conference of Perinatal Medicine in Osaka, Japan.
Vitamin K in Lincoln: consumer choice or no voice?
Vicki Bevan reports on the consumer response to a change in vitamin K protocols in Lincoln County Hospital
Research:
Also in this issue:
Will the ever learn?; Still hoping for a homebirth; More choice please
Premature babies: Avoidable deaths
The latest CESDI report has some very revealing things to teach us all about the care of premature babies,
AIMS Research Officer Jean Robinson reports.
Ultrasound Risks; A Reminder
Confidence and confidentiality
What does confidentiality mean? Collen Walker explores the issue from her own experience of the maternity services.
House of Commons Health Committee Enquiry into Choice in Childbirth: AIMS' submission
Ten years on from the last House of Commons Enquiry into childbirth (the Winterton Report), the MPs are once again
investigating maternity care. Beverley Beech provides an update on the AIMS submission.
Maternity statistics: A mayday call
Building for a better birth
Inequalities in pregnancy and childbirth
Research:
Also in this issue:
An AIMS connection; Chewing the fat; A happy experience; 'High-risk' birth at home: IMA stats show it's safer;
Creating a better environment for new mothers
Shaken baby syndrome: Caused by hospital care - Disturbing evidence of harm to premature babies at the hands of doctors and nurses.
The trauma of being born
Alice Charlwood, with some input from michel Odent at the primal health research Centre, review the evidence for long-term effects of birth trauma.
The effects of child-protection investigations on maternity care
Beverley beech examines the knock-on effects of the Climbie enquiry on maternity care.
Register our babies
Becky Tong explains the impetus behind her campaign to have all babies born between 18 and 24 weeks legally registered.
Health records and data protection: A review.
As Beverley Beech explains, access to your own health records is still a difficult and sometimes expensive business
Making headway in Wales
AIMS Committee member Suzanna Nock reviews the topics covered, and the ideas exchanged during our recent and enjoyable meeting in Wales.
House of Commons Select Committee on Health: Inquiry into provision of maternity services
AIMS responds to the UK Parlimentary Health Committe investigation into the current state of the maternity services.
Also in this issue:
Naming and shaming: is this constructive?; Too many midwives still don't 'do' water births;
Encouragement on the Web; New health initiative for maternity services; Good reasons for using a birth ball...; ...And also, when not to use the ball.
Failure in expectations: It's all your fault!
A recent notice posted on a website suggests women are their own worst enemies.
Post-traumatic stress disorder: AIMS' voice at the RCOG
Recent evidence shows that suicide was the largest cause of maternal death in the first year after childbirth
Through a glass darkly
A mother writes about the traumatic birth of her son, eight years later.
The challenge of change in Wales
Welsh midwives are determined to bring about radical changes.
Home birth: a realistic possibility
Report of joint meeting at Royal Society of Medicine, November 2002
Medical litigation in maternity care
Report of meeting in Stirling, November 2002
Nursing and Midwifery Council
Report of meeting in Glasgow, November 2002
National Service Framework Maternity Module
Report of open forum event in Leeds, January 2003
Also in this issue:
Concern over Social Services' behaviour; Home birth hostilities;
What's a midwife worth?; Should parents go back to school?.
Money running out for convenience caesareans - Leading British health insurer says it will no longer pay for caesareans
The uses and abuses of research on support - Who decides what is support in pregnancy
The midwife you have called knows you are waiting...
Ectopic pregnancy: A personal account
Perspectives on normal birth
Cochrane Collaboration Pregnancy and Childbirth Group - 10th Anniversary Meeting, November 2002
Share with care! - People's views on consent and confidentiality
Reviews of
"Reading Birth and Death: A History of Obstetric Thinking", and
"A Life's Work: On becoming a Mother".
Also in this issue:
A troublemaker who got her waterbirth; Your support was such a help;
Born in the back of an ambulance. Scots to consider breastfeeding bill;
UN Committee urges ban of breastmilk substitute promos.
State-Sanctioned Kidnapping - Violation of a baby's human rights
Birthing a baby by the breech at home - Midwives lack of experience and skill in breech birth is letting women down and endangering them and their babies
A knee-jerk response to medicalised birth - The role of primitive reflexes during pregnancy and birth
How to get a water birth - A little light relief for those whose bureaucratic stamina is running out
Infant formulas harbour harmful bacteria - The death of a five-day-old boy raises questions about breastmilk substitutes
In memory of Alice Stewart - Epidemiologist who showed that X-rays in pregnancy caused childhood leukaemia
Coronor's inquiry into a breech delivery
Reviews of
"Birth by Design: Pregnancy, Maternity Care,
and Midwifery in North America and Europe" and "Birth Stories".
Also in this issue:
I did it! A VBAC water birth at home; Lone birth - not just lucky; Assisting at my own caesarean;
Vasa previa: do you know what it is?; Lottery funding update.
Caesarean Section or Vaginal Birth - what difference does it make?
Natural VBAC in Ireland - a real miracle birth in Northern Ireland
Maternal Deaths - AIMS review of the Confidential Enquiry
What is normal birth? - Time to stop confusing what is common with what is normal
"Normal" Birth - Read the research and weep
New research shows that only a quarter of women in the UK truely have a normal birth. AIMS Research Officer Jean Robinson reports on the study's findings.
Getting a normal birth - Whose failure to progress
Janette McCabe wanted a normal birth. But her story reveals the idea that hospital is the 'best' place to give birth is still irrationally strong among both midwives
and consultants. Beverley Beech provides commentary to put the story in context.
Naomi Wolf's "Misconceptions" - Is it relevant to the UK?
Misconceptions - Naomi Wolf's expose on US childbirth practices - was received with unusual positivity by the UK press. Why did it take a rich and beautiful -
if somewhat confused - media personality writing about birth practices in a foreign country to get the message across in the UK? Anne Mccabe reports
Supporting women after birth - Experience of postnatal illness support in Cumbria
In many areas of the country women with Postnatal Illness are left to struggle alone, and manage as best they can, but in the North West, the charity Postnatal
Illness Support (Cumbria) provides a unique support service.
Domestic violence in pregnancy
Midwife Sally Price shines a light on a surprisingly common, but little talked about phenomenon
Research:
Reviews of
"Supportive Care and Midwifery", Misconceptions - True lies and the unexpected on the journey to motherhood", and "And then there was jasmine"
Also in this issue:
"Who's on duty"; Blind Prejudice; National Normal Birth Symposium; The Rising CAesarean Rate 2002;
Maternal Deaths; Successful home birth despite 'low' iron count;
Misoprostol for induction of labour - Untested, Unapproved and Unnecessary
Jessica Evans's experience of participating in the Oxford trial of misoprostol.
Misoprostol - letters in The Lancet
Health Warning - Misoprostol (Cytotec). Manufacturer says drug should not be used to induce labour.
Lone Birth - Ethical Dilemmas - Jean Robinson discusses AIMS' approach when women plan unassisted birth.
Vitamin K - An Alternative Perspective Midwife Sara Wickham provides a much-needed update on vitamin K prophylaxis.
What happens when a woman needs a caesarean? Two recent research papers suggest that women who need caesarean sections often fail to get them quickly enough. AIMS research officer Jean Robinson comments on a disturbing trend.
Emergency Sections - How Fast? How long does it take to do an emergency caesarean?
Failing to Meet the Standard - Comment on the Bradford audit, which looked at the interval between the decision to carry out a caesarean and the opereation taking place.
Supporting the Mother - where are the midwife advocates? Beverley Beech highlights recent cases where women have not received the support they needed from midwives.
Water Birth Mother Accused of Illegal Birth and Child Neglect - Yasmin Sumpter writes about her experience after a planned, unassisted birth.
Mother as Midwife Midwife Ann attended her daughter Heidi's labour and birth - here, both women write about their experience.
Diabetic Birth Without the Drip - Elaine Lawson, an insulin-dependent diabetic, describes her home birth.
Under-motivated, Under-skilled and Under Threat - When midwifery skills are in decline, the quality and safety of women's experience of birth is also under threat. AIMS' Chair Beverley Beech argues that proposals for a new Nursing and Midwifery Council can only cause the deterioration of an increasingly deskilled and undermotivated profession.
Defining Midwifery Practice - Should the midwifery profession be split into "obstetric nurses" and "midwives"?
Blood Money - first private UK Cord Blood Bank opens.
Hospital-Acquired Infections - Turning Birth into an Illness, by Pat Thomas
A Nail in the Coffin for Home Birth - New UKCC guidelines fail to support mothers and midwives, by Beverley Beech
HIV Testing and AIDS - universal testing for pregnant women? By Beverley Beech
Group B Streptococcus and Pregnancy - by Jane Plum of the Group B Strep Support Group
Waterbirth - Time to Move Forward by Beverley Beech
Posterior Babies - What mothers can do! by Rosie Denmark
Irish midwife Ann Kelly wins Supreme Court victory against Nursing Board by Marie O'Connor
They Showed Us The Money! - Julie Cook explains how she obtained a grant for Lancaster Home Birth Support Group.
Unassisted Childbirth by Laura Kaplan Shanley
Reinstating Women's Time in Childbirth - Dr Jo Murphy-Lawless describes the experience of childbirth in Ireland, and ways of improving it.
A Way Forward for Midwives - AIMS' Chair Beverley Lawrence Beech argues that it is time midwives started speaking up for themselves, for their profession and for the women in their care.
The Safety of Hospital Birth - The myth versus the reality
Over-Medicated and Under-informed:
What are the consequences for birthing women? It is not necessary to remind readers of the circumstances which empower a women to give birth sucessfully.
Birthing in her own surroundings, attended by peopleshe knows and loves, having confidence in her ability to birth the baby and having confidence in a skilled
practitioner who will be responsive to her needs and supportive of her decisions.
Ethical Research
Bad Habits - a poor basis for medical policy
In this article, Marsden Wagner, formerly the Regional Officer for Women's and Children's Health at the European
Regional Office of the World Health Organization, looks at the origins of and continuing problems caused by the widening gap between maternity practice
based on sound evidence and practice which is based on peer approval.
Ultrasound - weighing the propaganda against the facts.
Beverley Lawrence Beech's critical review of ultrasound research. Full-length occasional paper available here; an abridged version was published in the AIMS Journal.
Ultrasound - More powerful, more dangerous, more unethical.
When Professor Stuart Campbell says he is worried about the way ultrasound is being used on Jean Robinson, a veteran member of research ethics committees, describes some recent studies on ultrasound exposure, and asks what the ethical costs are.
Choosing Alternatives - Pat Thomas discusses how to use alternative and complementary therapies in pregnancy
Managing the Third Stage - Jean Robinson summarises the pitfalls and problems of research into third stage management
The Trial of Caroline Flint - report on the trial of a UK independent midwife
The Witch Hunt - International persecution of quality midwifery
The Ann Kelly Case - Midwifery in Ireland, and the independent midwife attacked by the establishment.
Trial by Newspaper - Pat Thomas looks at recent articles attacking campaigners for natural birth.
Other articles in this Journal: Birth choices under threat in France; review of CESDI report into stillbirths and deaths in infancy; homebirth in Scotland attended by a midwife who was not licensed to practise in the UK; maternal deaths in Ghana; epidurals and fever; breastfeeding - using lay counsellors; maternity services in Surrey; health service ombudsman; European Network of Childbirth Associations conference; submission to House of Commons Select Committee on maternity procedures; midwifery in Australia; the Bounty pregnancy book; and more.
MIDWIFERY - Will Higher Level Equal Lower Skill?
The Death of Midwifery?
It may be closer than we think.
Independent Professionals - But for how much longer?
Bringing Birth Back Into The Community.
History pf the Edware Birth Centre.
MSLCs - Where Are They Going Now?
Mothers Unite Against Unit's Closure.
Other articles in this Journal: Midwifery - will higher level equal lower skill?; Independent Professionals - but for how much longer?; Another 'revolutionary' scanner?; Bringing birth back into the community; History of the Edgware Birth Centre; MSLCs - where are they going now?; and more.
Miscarriage - The Loss of a Baby
Precious Babies, Not uterine Contents
Mater Over Matter - Inspired by the work of Michel Odent, on birth and bonding
What's On The Menu? - With tongue firmly in cheek, AIMS takes a look at the menu mentality of modern maternity care and the myth of 'choice'
Other articles in this Journal: What causes miscarriage?; Precious babies, not uterine contents; A 'typical' miscarriage; Tatler tales; Natural breech birth; Maternal deaths - thrombosis the main killer; Conference reports: 'Redefining normal childbirth', and 'Keeping Birth Normal'
Breech Presentation - caesarean operation versus normal birth
Keep Your Hands off the Breech - midwife Mary Cronk MBE explains how breech babies can be born vaginally
Turning Point for the Breech - turning a breech baby
Why are Some Babies Breech?
Other articles in this Journal: Natural, active breech birth; Delivering the Mother - a re-creative response to emotional trauma in childbirth; Health Service Ombudsman; Caring for women after major abdominal surgery; Breech birth stories; A good ventouse birth; AIMS in New Zealand.
Active Management of Labour - The Irish Way of Birth
Trust Guilty of abuse of power
The Essential Midwife - The Irish Way of Birth
Common Criticisms of Active Management
Potential Dangers of Oxytocin
Other articles in this Journal: Meeting and getting to know midwives - women's views; Team midwifery; Shackled prisoner wins compensation; NHS Trust guilty of abuse of power in forced caesarean case; Review of CESDI report on stillbirths and infant deaths; Conference report: Caesarean Sections - Whose Failure to Progress?.
Is Labour Just a Pain? - attitudes to pain, and to pain relief, in labour.
Epidurals - Dead from the waist down?
Pethidine - A little shot of something not so nice.
Other articles in this Journal: Odent in the light of the Alexander Technique; Mothers opposed to maternity unit shutdowns; Don't stereotype journalists (or midwives); MIDIRS conference.
Folic Acid - everyone knows that taking this supplement can reduce the risk of having a baby with neural tube defects, but Jean Robinson's review of the research uncovers some surprising possibilities about the way it works.
Please see the Publications List for our complete selection of publications, available to order.
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