Freebirth

I am delighted to support you in your freebirth journey, it is your right to decide how, where and with whom you birth your baby. It is legal to freebirth and to decline antenatal care. You can still have a doula or non medical professional attend the birth. Please note that this package does not include birth insurance therefore I cannot offer any visits or advice once you think you are in labour no matter how early. I offer a freebirth package that includes:

 

FREEBIRTH

Unassisted birth
£ 1000
  • 20 week MAT B1 appointment
  • 34 week birth plan appointment
  • 36 week baby position appointment
  • Birth registration within 6 h of the birth
  • On call
  • NIPE check
  • Mileage
  • Extra appointment at £80/h
Freebirth Independent Midwife
Freebirth Choice

Read more about why I prepared myself to freebirth as a midwife in my Instagram page.

Resources For Fetal Heart Monitoring

1.When did we start monitoring babies in labour?

For more high quality evidence around fetal monitoring please visit Kirsten website here, an obstetrician with a PHD in CTGs. https://birthsmalltalk.com/

In this post she discusses intermittent auscultation: https://birthsmalltalk.com/2023/08/23/what-is-intermittent-auscultation/

Hear her talk about the lack of evidence behind CTGs in this podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1eXZY973Oxbs1ducavpSAk?si=872f8c4077be4ba5

Post on the history of fetal heart monitoring: https://birthsmalltalk.com/2023/08/09/listening-to-the-fetus-the-history-of-fetal-heart-rate-monitoring/

Cochrane review comparing CTG to intermittent ausculation (CTG increases interventions
): https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006066.pub3/full

Does CTG use improve outcomes for high risk women? https://birthsmalltalk.com/2024/10/16/the-story-behind-our-paper/

2. How should we use intermittent auscultation in labour?

These are the NICE guidelines for fetal monitoring in labour: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng229/chapter/Recommendations

Midwife researcher and lecturer Rachel Reed has a brilliant article and podcast about this where she unpicks the evidence around the recommendations for intermittent auscultation protocols here https://www.rachelreed.website/blog/listening-to-baby-during-labour

and podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3sJeIR3xUOr20EBRGilHxl?si=818537594dd04457

The WHO recommendations for intrapartum care: https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/260178/9789241550215-eng.pdf?sequence=1

3. How does intermittent auscultation detect fetal distress?

For more on normal and abnormal heart rate monitoring watch this explanatory video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni48bbtiZgs

4. What happens if there are concerns with the fetal heart rate at a homebirth?

NICE guidelines for fetal monitoring in labour: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng229/chapter/Recommendations

5.What is better for fetal monitoring in labour: a Doppler or a Pinard/fetoscope?

To read about the research and the experiences of midwives using a fetoscope/pinard antenatally and in labour check these links out.

Short facebook comments compiled in this magazine here: https://www.midwiferytoday.com/mt-articles/wisdom-of-the-midwives-issue-131/

Midwives perceptions of fetoscope vrs Doppler Tanzania https://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-018-1736-y

Midwives experiences of Pinard use Norway https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0266613822000407

Defense of fetoscope article by American midwives

https://hearthandhomemidwifery.com/blog/fetoscope-a-tool-of-the-midwifery-trade#:~:text=Fetoscope%20uses%20go%20beyond%20just,birthing%20person%20and%20the%20baby.

A Cochrane review that compares Doppler and Pinard use in low income countries: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD008680.pub2/full

For a compilation of research that compares the use of Doppler to Pinard check this link: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/content?templateType=related&urlTitle=%2Fcentral%2Fdoi%2F10.1002%2Fcentral%2FCN-01110791&doi=10.1002%2Fcentral%2FCN-01110791&p_p_id=scolariscontentdisplay_WAR_scolariscontentdisplay&_scolariscontentdisplay_WAR_scolariscontentdisplay_action=related-content&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_mode=view&type=central&contentLanguage=

6. What if you decline some or all fetal auscultations?

Is fetal monitoring essential?: https://birthsmalltalk.com/2024/11/06/myth-busting-3-fetal-monitoring-is-essential/

7. What to bear in mind about intermittent auscultation in labour?

Examples of womens experiences of fetal auscultation in labour: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871519224002658#bib14