In this presentation I will talk about how the uterus must first to be turned into a dance floor before a physiological labour can even begin naturally – and then how a beautiful dance floor, with a natural spring to it, can enable the fetus to move him/herself into the best possible position for second stage and the birth itself.
We are familiar with the idea that the cervix needs to be remodeled before labour – we even have a scale for it the Bishops score – but 25 years of delving into the physiology of the uterus has shown me that a similar transformation needs to take place in the uterus.
It’s a huge topic, taking us through physiology, materials science, engineering and biomechanics – but luckily there is a beautiful easy-to-understand analogy to the uterus. I will zip through the hormonal changes – which are readily available in textbooks – and concentrate on how the uterus transforms itself into a dance floor for the mother and fetus to use for labour and birth.
Some of the neonatal reflexes should perhaps be relabeled fetal reflexes. I am not the first to suggest that they may have evolved for use in labour.
You will learn how this underpins my passion for mothers to have freedom of movement in labour – and touch on my second career as a maternity equipment designer.
I’m looking forward to sharing this new model of labour with midwives and birth workers around the world and hoping for a lively discussion in the final part of the session.
Margaret will be presenting this online at the Virtual International Day of the Midwife.
It’s free to join and will be presented using online conferencing software, the details of which will be available on the website during the week before the conference. All VIDM 2020 Conference sessions are listed using UTC, starting at 22:00 on 04 May.
The WHO COVID-19 Preconference sessions start at 19:00 UTC on 04 May.
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