Category: Health
-
The Microbiome: Seeding Some Questions
The current next big thing in health news seems to be the Microbiome. According to a growing number of reports it could be involved in everything from Schizophrenia to Obesity. So there has been speculation about where it comes from and if how a baby is born, either vaginally or by C section, could determine […]
-
Don’t Fear Sunday’s Child – A Look At Today’s Headlines On Weekend Births
If I was pregnant at the moment I suspect I’d find today’s headlines pretty scary. They report that giving birth at the weekend, something most women can not control or predict, puts babies lives at risk. It would be great if we could dismiss this as yet another case of media hype, a rouge press […]
-
A Mum’s Guide To Dodgy Science: Publication By Press Release
Sometimes, it sucks being a grown up. I’ve actually had enough time to write some blog posts recently but other events have left me with a lack of motivation for anything other than eating cake and reading Tudor crime novels under a blanket (it’s a fairly niche slump). Anyway, in an attempt to drag myself […]
-
Acupuncture For All – On the NHS?
I was really disappointed to read this article today in the Guardian, The general gist is that some doctors think acupuncture works and should be available on the NHS with all doctors learning at least a little about it in training and midwives being trained to administer it to ease labour pain. According to the […]
-
Have Your Say In The NHS Maternity Review
A big review of NHS maternity services is currently underway and those involved are actively seeking out the opinions and experiences of Mums and Dads. This week they launched an online consultation which you can access here: https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/survey/nhs-maternity-review If you or your partner/friend/family member has had a baby with the NHS please please take a […]
-
Are Women Losing The Ability To Give Birth Naturally?
Or, Has Michael Odent finally jumped the shark dolphin…* Has something happened that is stopping women from performing the most ordinary but amazing act in nature? Well according to French surgeon and Obstetrician Michael Odent it has. But I’m not so sure… Firstly big hat tip to Kiran Chug who has already blogged about this […]
-
The Measles Vaccine – With Extra Life Saving Bonus
Or – why science is amazing and wonderful and cool. Two things happened this week which reminded me just how fascinating science, and especially biology, (sorry Prof. Brian Cox) can be. Firstly I gave a tour of our lab to some non scientists. I had 45 minutes to fill and it was a little daunting. […]
-
Sleep
Imagine you are taking part in some sort of extreme sport endurance event, say a really long, non stop hike. You’re not at peak fitness but, at the start, it’s going ok. However, 20 or 30 hours in it’s got a lot harder, you’re climbing up ever steeper hills, tired and in a lot of […]
-
D Is For Demons
A #MatExp ABC post For those who don’t know what the #MatExp ABC is: Each day over on twitter, midwives, mothers, obstetricians and anyone else who wants to join in are sharing a word which is important to them and which relates to maternity care. I’ve been joining in and also trying to link my […]
-
The WHO Recommended Caesarean Section Rate (2015 Edition)
Yesterday the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a statement about Caesarean sections- the title was: Caesarean sections should only be performed when medically necessary This was, of course, picked up by the press, with The Guardian pretty much copy-pasting the headline. So, does the WHO have some striking new evidence that there are far too many […]