How western medicine controls the start of labour and why this needs to stop -An interview with Dr Sara Wickham

In this episode we have got Dr Sara Wickham back! Sara’s newest
book titled In Your Own Time: How western medicine controls
the start of labour and why this needs to stop, is a
masterclass in what the evidence really says about induction of
labour and a fascinating insight into how birth has come to be
controlled by Western medicine. 


Staggeringly, over a third of all pregnant women have their
labour medically induced, and this is accompanied by a tsunami of
avoidable medical interventions. Worldwide, this trend is growing
at an alarming rate. This is despite both a lack of evidence
demonstrating its benefits and a wealth of evidence indicating
the significant short- and long-term negative impacts of
induction on the health and wellbeing of mothers and their
babies.


Sara discusses with us how her timely book, in light of the newly
released NICE Inducing labour guidelines, demystifies the
evidence and highlights the significant discrepancies between
guidelines and what we really know about the benefits of
supporting women to birth spontaneously.


Sara is a midwife, speaker, bestselling author and researcher who
works independently. Sara’s career has been varied and includes
more than twenty years of experience as a midwife, lecturer and
researcher. She is the author/editor of seventeen books and is
the Director of the Birth Information Project. She divides her
working time between speaking, writing, facilitating online
courses, creating resources and undertaking a wide variety of
consultancy projects and advisory activities.

LINKS:
Dr Sara Wickham website: www.sarawickham.com


The book’s webpage www.sarawickham.com/time 


Instagram  @drsarawickham
Facebook  fb/saramidwife

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Music by Joseph McDade


Disclaimer
The information shared in this podcast is for general educational
purposes only and is not intended as medical or legal advice.
Always consult with a qualified professional regarding individual
health concerns.

The Midwives’ Cauldron podcast does not guarantee the
completeness or accuracy of the information provided and accepts
no liability for any loss or harm arising from reliance on this
content.