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.
AIMS Journal, 2026, Vol 38, No 3 By Rixa Freeze, PhD For a long time, breech birth lived in my mind as a question I could not quite put down. It was never just a clinical…
AIMS Journal, 2026, Vol 38, No 3 By Amy Meadowcroft, RM, MClinRes Introduction This article uses the terms “women” and “mothers” in relation to biological sex and reprodu…
AIMS Journal, 2026, Vol 38, No 3 By Joy Horner For those who may not be familiar with the life and work of the late, great Mrs ("My friends call me Mary”) Cronk, she was…
Join us for one of our series of interactive online AIMS workshops, " Focusing on Induction of Labour ". Nadia Higson (principal author of "The AIMS Guide to Induction of…
To celebrate the launch of the new AIMS Guide to Breech Birth we are pleased to be holding a launch event with Joy Horner, the principle author. Joy will be sharing her o…
Stephanie Ernst, founder of the TAPS Support Foundation, will be explaining the issues that can arise in different types of twin pregnancies, and what twins parents need…
By Jo Dagustun on behalf of the AIMS Campaigns Team In this briefing note, Jo offers an account of what has been happening following Wes Streeting’s 2024 commitment to ov…
AIMS was set to review the document Framework for maternity healthcare professionals to support individualised care for women who choose alternative/non-standard birth ch…
AIMS has written to welcome Robbie Butler to his new role as Northern Ireland's Health Minister. AIMS is asking him to continue to support the continuity of carer model o…