In the media
Professor Hannah Dahlen
Stand and deliver – upright births best for mum and bub
Think of childbirth and you’re likely to picture a woman lying on her back on a hospital bed. That’s the position most (78%) Australian women adopt to give birth birth, despite growing evidence that being upright to give birth can have better outcomes for the mother and baby.
Historical and anthropological literature shows that lying down for birth is a relatively modern phenomenon, as we have moved from a more social to a surgical model of care. As far back as written records, carvings and paintings go, women have given birth upright – whether it was using stacked bricks to create a primitive birthing stool or holding onto leaves and ropes hung from trees. A famous drawing from Egypt depicts Cleopatra (69-30 BC) kneeling to give birth.
Read more - The Conversation (opens in a new window)
Source: The Conversation
Written by: Professor Hannah Dahlen
Posted: May 7, 2013
Type: Online
Migrant women less likely to have unassisted birth: study
Some groups of migrant women in Australia are at a higher risk of medical interventions in childbirth that may lead to health problems for the mother or child, a new study has found.
Medical interventions include caesarean sections, use of epidural painkillers, episiotomies and use of instruments such as forceps or vacuum caps to assist with vaginal birth.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Western Sydney and published in the journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, looked at all women giving birth in NSW between 2000 and 2008 and compared outcomes for women from the top seven migrant countries to women born in Australia.
Read more - The Conversation (opens in a new window)
Source: The Conversation
Written by: Professor Hannah Dahlen
Posted: May 6, 2013
Type: Online
Birth centre guidelines need changing: midwives
The national guidelines on where women should give birth are based on outdated beliefs that birth centres unattached to hospitals are dangerous rather than best-practice, a leading Sydney midwifery expert says.
Obstetric guidelines do not support birth centres located away from hospitals, which are available to healthy women at low risk of complications and led by midwives rather than doctors.
But the findings of a major US study released last week concluded that such centres were cost-effective and safe and should lead to the guidelines being revised, said an associate professor of midwifery at the University of Western Sydney, Hannah Dahlen.
''Anything that takes women and their midwives away from the proximity of a hospital makes obstetricians very nervous,'' Dr Dahlen said.
Read more - Sydney Morning Herald (opens in a new window)
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
Written By: Melissa Davey
Posted: February 10, 2013
Type: Print
"Free birthing" on the rise despite danger warnings
The practice of "free birthing", where women give birth with no help from a qualified doctor or midwife, is on the increase despite its well-documented dangers.
To watch more - ABC (opens in a new window)
Source: ABC News 7.30 Victoria
Written By: Josie Taylor
Posted: February 8, 2013
Type: Television
Duration: 6min 29sec
Pregnancy challenges for overweight rural women
A recent study has found rural health services can't cope with the majority of local pregnant women, so where so they go?
The University of Melbourne research shows two thirds of pregnant women in Victoria's Goulburn Valley are overweight or obese, forcing small hospitals to turn them away.
This problem is likely to be mirrored across the country.
While transferring patients to bigger hospitals is a common option, there are fears that some women are opting to go it alone at home, or arriving at ill-equipped hospitals, already in labour.
To listen to the interview - ABC (opens in a new window)
Dr. Glyn Teale, Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne and Clinical Services Director at Western Health, Melbourne; Professor Hannah Dahlen, Professor of Midwifery, University of Western Sydney, NSW.
Source: ABC Rural
Written By: Sonja Heydeman
Posted: February 5, 2013
Type: Radio
Duration: 14min 23sec
Concerns for overweight pregnant women
By Alyssa Allen
A recent study on six thousand Goulburn Valley pregnant women conducted by the University of Melbourne showed that two thirds of the women were significantly overweight, which heightened the health risks for both mother and baby during the birth process. Australian College of Midwives Professor, Hannah Dahlen, says pregnant women with a higher body mass get diabetes, blood pressure problems and give birth to larger babies.
To listen to the interview - ABC (opens in a new window)
Source: ABC Goulburn Murray
Written By: Alyssa Allen
Posted: January 21, 2013
Type: Radio
Duration: 4min 28sec
