In this episode Mel finally talks about pre-eclampsia (she can avoid it no longer!). Mel explains what pre-eclampsia is, how to diagnose it, how it develops and some strategies on how to prevent it. In this episode (part 1) you also learn about who is more likely to get pre-eclampsia so that preventative strategies can be better targeted. The episode was sponsored by The convergence of rebellious midwives conference , tickets available for the 2025 event NOW. Get your ticket now - it’s not just ...
Feb 16, 2025•50 min
Professor Hannah Dahlen joins Mel to discuss modern day Midwifery and the hope that she has about reclaiming our Midwifery heritage. Hannah believes that we are SO close to a birth utopia where women will have access to Midwives and whose Midwives can work autonomously with women. Find out the reason for her optimism. Hannah explains that the only option at this point to go backwards in the progress that Midwives have made is self sabotage. Where to listen/watch: Listen on the website Watch or l...
Feb 09, 2025•1 hr 11 min
The RSV vaccine during pregnancy has just been approved for use in Australia and the Australian government is providing it for free to all pregnant women. Mel goes over the research about the vaccine's effectiveness and the results of the 3 studies done so far. There is limited short term data but no long term data since this is a new vaccine. Melanie is a registered Midwife and so is required by her registration body to uphold the recommendations in the Australian National Immunisations Handboo...
Feb 02, 2025•56 min
Mel invites experienced Lactation consultant and published author Lucy Webber to the podcast to ask her Breastfeeding questions. Lucy answers some questions that address the most common breastfeeding myths that she is always confronting in her work and I also threw in some listener questions! You can follow along with Lucy via Facebook , instagram or visit her website Resources mentioned: Emma Pickets Podcast Australian Breastfeeding Association Breastfeeding Network UK La Leche League Internati...
Jan 26, 2025•1 hr 11 min
Part 2 of the risks of induction. Episode 133 was all about the assessment and first steps of induction and this episode follows on with the risks of the final steps of induction of labour. These are a must-listen if you are being presented with the option of induction - especially if it’s a routine induction Mel also opens up the video presentations from The Convergence of Rebellious Midwives conference 2024. These are now available to the public and many of the exceptional presentations addres...
Jan 19, 2025•50 min
Having your labour induced has risks. This episode is part 1 of a discussion of the labour induction process and the associated risks that go along with each stage of an induction. The discussion continues in episode 134. Sometimes the benefits of an induction outweigh the risks, but sometimes an induction is more risky than staying pregnant. This episode offers information to help inform your decisions around labour induction options Mel also opens up the video presentations from the convergenc...
Jan 12, 2025•1 hr
Dr Melanie Jackson is the host of the Great Birth Rebellion podcast but do you really know her? Mel's husband Dan interviews her to get to the bottom of who she is and what she is up to. Dan probes with questions about her background, motivations, and journey into Midwifery. Discover Mel's academic and professional activities, including her transition from Naturopathy to Midwifery and into academia. The conversation also covers her family life, homeschooling their children, their permaculture li...
Jan 05, 2025•1 hr
Angela Duce (from Guardian Doula’s diary: the podcast) interviews Mel about Myth busting and truth telling about birth. Angela had questions about homebirth, choosing your birth team, postdates, ultrasounds, due dates, induction options and cephalopelvic disproportion. Great birth rebellion Episodes that complement this one: Ep. 3 Due Dates Ep. 8 Giving Birth at home Ep. 29 Small babies, big babies pt.1 Ep. 30 Small babies, big babies pt.2 This episode is a re-edit of The Guardian Doula’s diary:...
Dec 29, 2024•58 min
The Australia’s mothers and babies report is released every year and this covers the findings of the 2024 release - Mel and her guest Dr Kirsten Small pick apart the findings and lament over them with a drinking game to sooth the rage. We are told that all of this intervention is used to keep us and our babies safe, but is it working? Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each episode at www.melaniethemidwife.com Join the...
Dec 22, 2024•1 hr 24 min
After you have your baby, you’ll also give birth to your placenta, but what is the placenta? How do you give birth to it? In this episode, Mel shares 3 methods of placental birth and gives some information to help women decide which method they prefer. There are also some practical tips for midwives who want to learn particular skills for placental birth, especially physiological management. Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource fold...
Dec 15, 2024•45 min
A birth keeper is a vague and obscure term used to describe some unregulated birth workers who attend births. No one except the birth keeper themselves really knows the full scope of what they do or what they are capable of because they prefer to work in secret and away from the gaze of society. In this episode Mel invites journalist Charlotte King to explore the stories of two families who hired birthkeepers and who now, having experienced the care of a birthkeeper, want to alert the public to ...
Dec 08, 2024•1 hr 23 min
Your perineum is a part of your body that is designed to repair itself after childbirth. 70% of women will have some kind of tear or cut to their perineum during childbirth. Many of these will be stitched back together - but is this necessary? Will it still heal without stitches and how do you know if you need stitches or not. This episode has all the answers. Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each episode at www.mela...
Dec 01, 2024•41 min
Consumer advocacy organisations are significant agents for change in maternity care. In this episode, we delve into the powerful story behind The Perth Birth Link , an advocacy group founded in 2023 to address preventable birth trauma and help women find empowerment through education and support. Being the new kids on the block in this space has given Amy O'Meagher , (the founder of Perth Birth link) a unique view into the culture, triumphs and tragedies of what it means to be a consumer activis...
Nov 24, 2024•56 min
The medicalisation spectrum is 101 when you are planning a birth that feels safest and most satisfying to you. Understanding where you sit on the medicalisation spectrum is the key to planning the rest of your pregnancy, birth and postnatal care. In this episode Mel explains the medicalisation spectrum with reference to where your care provider and chosen birth location would also fit along the spectrum. Mel discusses the 2 types of birth philosophies and where they fit on the spectrum. Understa...
Nov 17, 2024•36 min
What does the research say about being over 35 years old and pregnant? Mel looks through some research papers to help you understand how your care provider is calculating risk and outcomes and if these calculations mean anything at all! Are you really having a ‘high-risk’ pregnancy is you are in the ‘advanced maternal age’ category - and don’t even get me started on the ‘geriatric’ pregnancy terminology. Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast Join the podcast mailing list to access the ...
Nov 10, 2024•56 min
When a baby is in a breech (head up) position for labour and birth, women are faced with unique challenges of care provider incompetence and fear. Many clinicians don’t know how to or refuse to attend vaginal breech births. They cite increased risk and danger, but is this correct? Is it more dangerous to give birth to your breech baby vaginally or by caesarean section? Dr Rixa Freeze, president of Breech without Borders talks us through the research and we discuss the concept of never being able...
Nov 03, 2024•1 hr 12 min
Getting your baby to sleep might feel like the hardest part of your parenting journey. Have you ever been advised to let you baby ‘cry it out’ or been told to just ‘put your baby down’? Or rely in sleep cues and routines? You might want to listen to this episode where Dr Pamela Douglas explains how parenting can be easier, more joyful and less exhausting when we consider the research around infant sleep - because it is certainly not on the side of hours of bouncing a baby to sleep. Dr Pamela Dou...
Oct 27, 2024•1 hr 21 min
Curious about what it takes to set up a business as a private midwife? This is for Australian Midwives who want to know the steps to becoming a private midwife. This is the first in a free-series that is running all week at www.melaniethemidwife.com between October 20th-25th 2024. If you are listening after the 24th, you've missed out on free week but you can register for next year at www.melaniethemidwife.com Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast Join the podcast mailing list to acces...
Oct 22, 2024•53 min
Mel brings some practical tips for preparing for a posterior labour. You never know which labour and birth are going to be impacted by posterior position of the baby (facing the front instead of facing the back) and the labour pattern can be very different. Being prepared for a posterior labour also means you are ready for any labour. This episode is great preparation for labour full stop, but you’ll also be prepared for a posterior labour. For more episodes to help you with posterior labour als...
Oct 20, 2024•49 min
Ever wondered what Mel chose for her own births? And how it all went? Today she spills the tea about her own personal births through an interview with Anna from Sacred Birth International who interviewed Mel about her birth stories on the Natural Birth podcast… Today we share a raw story about the choices Mel made for her own pregnancy and birth journeys - you’ll hear what I did for my tiny pre-term baby and also hear the backstory about how I laughed my second baby out. Big thanks to Anna from ...
Oct 13, 2024•1 hr 31 min
Posterior labour refers to the circumstance where the baby is facing toward the front to the womans pubic hair as opposed to anterior where the baby is facing the womans bum during labour. The position of the baby has an impact on the process and outcome of labour and in this episode Sarah Langford (midwife, mother and PhD research candidate) talks about her research on posterior labours. We quickly learn what little is known about the experience of posterior labour and what Sarah’s work is doin...
Oct 06, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Mel explains exactly how to change the system. This is an excerpt of the opening address that she presented at the convergence of rebellious midwives conference 2024 and draws from her farming experience to give an example of how real and lasting change is made in nature and how this translates to how we can change the maternity system at every level Tickets are on sale to the 2025 convergence now. Go to www.melaniethemidwife.com for ticketing options. Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Pod...
Sep 29, 2024•23 min
We speak with Dr Kate Levett and Heidi Williams about the use of acupuncture and acupressure in pregnancy. We discover the weight of evidence on the side of acupuncture and Kate and Heidi explore novel ways of integrating it within the maternity care system and acuneedling for midwives. For tickets to the convergence 2025 to hear Ina May Gaskin go to www.melaniethemidwife.com Kate website: https://drkatelevett.com/ https://drkatelevett.com/video-resources-acupressure-for-labour Dr Kate Levett: h...
Sep 22, 2024•1 hr 13 min
The Spinning Babies® techniques are well known the world over for providing the opportunity for women to promote the physiological function of their bodies and prevent pathology in the birth process. Today we welcome Gail Tully, Midwife and creator of Spinning Babies® to discuss her work. This episode is generously sponsored by The Birth Sling by Dr Jess Michaels. As a special gift to Great Birth Rebellion listeners, use code GBR24 for a 10% discount at www.thebirthsling.com . Get more from the ...
Sep 15, 2024•1 hr 6 min
Women are offered CTG’s in the hope that complications can be identified and intercepted… but is this what happens? Are there better outcomes when we include CTG as part of maternity care? Today Mel invites Dr Kirsten Small to ask if there is EVER a good reason to offer or accept a CTG. Kisten is a career academic, retired obstetrician and an industry expert in the use of CTG foetal heart rate monitoring, Kirstens PhD is on the topic of CTG and She is the mistress and owner of birthsmalltalk.com...
Sep 08, 2024•50 min
Most women will be offered CTG monitoring through their labour… but does it make a difference to the health of the mum and baby? In this episode Mel invites Kirsten to talk about the use of CTG foetal heart rate monitoring during labour and birth. Check out Kirsten's work @birthsmalltalk on instagram and twitter and www.birthsmalltalk.com Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each episode at www.melaniethemidwife.com Join...
Sep 01, 2024•53 min
Women are offered CTG’s through pregnancy in the hope that complications can be identified and intercepted… but is this what happens? Are there better outcomes when we include CTG as part of pregnancy care or assessments? Today Mel invites Dr Kirsten Small who is a career academic, retired obstetrician and an industry expert in the use of CTG foetal heart rate monitoring, Kirstens PhD is on the topic of CTG and She is the mistress and owner of birthsmalltalk.com where she offers free and evidenc...
Aug 25, 2024•42 min
Everyone always asks, is homebirth safe? But the bigger question to be asking is, Is hospital birth dangerous? Mel looks at the biggest Australian Study which included over 1 million women to find the answer of, is hospital birth dangerous for women? And also takes a poke into history to discover how it came to be that 97% of women will give birth in hospital in Australia Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each episode...
Aug 18, 2024•45 min
The Village Community is a unique and replicable model to bring back the village community when caring for women and mothers. Aimee Honness from the village community lays out the details of how it works and how to bring back the village into your life and community. Caring for women postpartum has become countercultural… the village community is bringing it back. You can find out more about The village community on instagram @the.village.community and participate or donate to this initiative th...
Aug 11, 2024•49 min
Have you ever thought about opening your own birth centre or birth house? Learn about the oldest existing independent birth house here in Launceston, Australia with Jaimee Smith, a private midwife who attends births at the birth house and who collated 35 years of statistics about the outcomes of births that occur there. You can learn more about the birth house and Jaimee Get more from the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast Join the podcast mailing list to access the resource folder from each episode ...
Aug 04, 2024•49 min
