Tips for preparing for birth, from choosing a hospital to be mentally ready.

The moment your waters break is usually a signal for women that they will get to meet their baby soon. But sometimes baby doesn’t come straight away or it happens before full term. Our midwife, Caroline May, explains what PROM and PPROM are, and what you can expect if you experience it.

Finding out your baby is in a breech position can be frightening and, for some women, disappointing as it means they have to have a caesarean delivery – or do they? Midwife Caroline May explains why many breech babies are delivered by caesar and whether vaginal delivery can remain as one of your options.

Babies are meant to turn themselves head down in the latter part of a pregnancy, but not all do with approximately 4-5% staying upright. Midwife Caroline May discusses some of the options available for mums to encourage their breech bub to turn.

One of the most common questions asked on the Baby Hints and Tips Facebook page concerns how to bring on labour, and advice given usually ranges from sex and nipple stimulation to bouncing on a fit ball, castor oil and hot curries. The question is however, is there any evidence that any of these things actually work?

Home birth has always been a contentious issue in Australia, largely fuelled by the media and the medical profession. The biggest fears surrounding home birth usually boil down to one question, is it safe?

There are many questions related to induction of labour but for this issue I will concentrate on medical ways of inducing.

An introduction to co-sleeping, and why it isn’t necessarily ‘bed sharing’.

When it comes to choosing where to birth your baby there are many things to think about and it can be quite overwhelming, but choosing the right place for you can have an enormous impact on your pregnancy, birthing and post partum experience and it is not quite as simple as public vs private.

Breastfeeding is natural so it should be easy right? For some women it does come very naturally but for the majority it is a skill that needs to be learned. Not so much by the baby as it is instinctive to them, but by the mother.

Midwife Caroline May shares her top five tips for not only surviving, but getting the most out of your labour experience (for you and bub).