A unified call to action from Australian nursing and midwifery leaders: ensuring that Black lives matter.

Nurses and midwives of Australia now is the time for change! As powerfully placed, Indigenous and non-Indigenous nursing and midwifery professionals, together we can ensure an effective and robust Indigenous curriculum in our nursing and midwifery schools of education. Today, Australia finds itself in a shifting tide of social change, where the voices for better and safer health care ring out loud. Voices for justice, equity and equality reverberate across our cities, our streets, homes, and institutions of learning. It is a call for new songlines of reform. The need to embed meaningful Indigenous health curricula is stronger now than it ever was for Australian nursing and midwifery. It is essential that nursing and midwifery leadership continue to build an authentic collaborative environment for Indigenous curriculum development. Bipartisan alliance is imperative for all academic staff to be confident in their teaching and learning experiences with Indigenous health syllabus. This paper is a call out. Now is the time for Indigenous and non-Indigenous nurses and midwives to make a stand together, for justice and equity in our teaching, learning, and practice. Together we will dismantle systems, policy, and practices in health that oppress. The Black Lives Matter movement provides us with a 'now window' of accepted dialogue to build a better, culturally safe Australian nursing and midwifery workforce, ensuring that Black Lives Matter in all aspects of health care.

The birth bed: A qualitative study on the views of midwives regarding the use of the bed in the birth space.

BACKGROUND: There is a growing body of evidence to show that the birth environment can influence women's experiences of labour and birth as well as midwifery practice. A common feature of the modern birth space is the bed. Knowledge about how the use of the bed shapes clinicians' perceptions and attitudes is limited. AIM: The aim of this paper is to describe midwives' perceptions of the birth bed. METHOD: Qualitative descriptive design. Fourteen midwives from one Queensland maternity unit participated in digitally recorded and transcribed interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data set. FINDINGS: Four themes were identified. The first, described beliefs that using the bed formed part of women's childbirth expectations. A second theme, captured midwives' perceptions that the bed was also an object required to safely undertake their work. The third theme described how others commonly worked to ensure the woman stayed off the bed. Lastly, there was evidence that whilst wanting to avoid the use of the bed, some were reluctant, fearing potential reprimand. CONCLUSION: The themes highlight differences in how the midwives conceptualised the use of a bed within a birth space. While some avoided the use of the bed altogether others would only conceive of women moving off the bed if everything was 'normal'. How the bed was culturally constructed appeared to dictate clinical practice. Reflecting on the meaning of an object, such as the bed, is important if clinicians are to fully understand how the birth environment influences their practice and thus women's experiences of labour and birth.

The EPIIC hypothesis: intrapartum effects on the neonatal epigenome and consequent health outcomes.

There are many published studies about the epigenetic effects of the prenatal and infant periods on health outcomes. However, there is very little knowledge regarding the effects of the intrapartum period (labor and birth) on health and epigenetic remodeling. Although the intrapartum period is relatively short compared to the complete perinatal period, there is emerging evidence that this time frame may be a critical formative phase for the human genome. Given the debates from the National Institutes of Health and World Health Organization regarding routine childbirth procedures, it is essential to establish the state of the science concerning normal intrapartum epigenetic physiology. EPIIC (Epigenetic Impact of Childbirth) is an international, interdisciplinary research collaboration with expertise in the fields of genetics, physiology, developmental biology, epidemiology, medicine, midwifery, and nursing. We hypothesize that events during the intrapartum period - specifically the use of synthetic oxytocin, antibiotics, and cesarean section - affect the epigenetic remodeling processes and subsequent health of the mother and offspring. The rationale for this hypothesis is based on recent evidence and current best practice.

Patterns of transfer in labour and birth in rural New Zealand.

INTRODUCTION: For many women, and particularly rural women, birthing locally and within their own community is important for personal, social and/or cultural reasons. If concerns about the woman or her baby mean transfer to a secondary or tertiary facility is necessary, this can be disruptive and stressful, especially if road transfer is complicated by terrain, weather or distance, as is often the case in rural New Zealand. The objective of this study was to explore the number of and reason for transfers during labour and birth for well women, close to full term, from primary rural maternity facilities to specialist care in rural New Zealand. METHODS: This retrospective survey of 45 rural maternity units in the North and South Islands of New Zealand was conducted over a 2 year period ending on 30 June 2006. The participants were the 4678 women who began labour in a rural facility during this time period. RESULTS: The survey response rate was 66.6%. The data revealed that 16.6% of women who commenced labour in a rural unit were transferred in labour or within 6 hours of birth; 3% of babies born in rural units were transferred after birth and up to 7 days post-birth. The primary reason for maternal transfer was slow progress in labour (49.67%). Of the 123 babies transferred, this was most often due to respiratory problems (43%). Key features of the rural context (times and distances to be travelled, geological and climatic characteristics, types of transport systems and availability of local assistance) influenced the timeliness of the decision to transfer. CONCLUSIONS: Within New Zealand's regionalised perinatal system, midwives make cautious decisions about transfer, taking into account the local rural local circumstances, and also the topography as it impacts on transport.