The Great Birth Rebellion

The fetus ejection reflex vs the Ferguson reflex. Did you feel your baby shoot out of you unexpectedly, or that irresistible urge that made it impossible not to push? This episode is to help understand these incredible birth reflexes that make birth so much easier and faster and how to make them work for you. Today Mel discusses the difference between the fetus ejection reflex and the ferguson reflex and gives practical st...

Pushing out your baby is NOT about the eye popping, no breathing, PUSH PUSH PUSH PUUUUUUUSH scene that you see in movies. Unfortunately though many women are coached by their care provider to push a particular way. It doesn’t have to be like that. The evidence shows that you and your baby would be better off without a coach guiding your pushing or breathing during the pushing phase. In this ...

On Aug 19th 2025 the world farewelled legendary Obstetrician Michel Odent. He spent his career trying to warn us of the generational impact of interrupting labour and birth and gave timeless advice on the practice of authentic midwifery and obstetrics. Today in this Ode to Odent I give a broad sweeping overview on the work of Odent that I believe should be preserved and passed on to this gen...

A long and lovely career in midwifery requires strategic effort, the midwifery workforce is in a crisis of unsustainability so how can you be one of the midwives that makes it to a long and lovely career? In today's episode Mel gives direct and clear steps and strategy to creating a career that you love. She also reflects on the convergence of rebellious midwives and invites participation is...

Sometimes homebirth doesn’t go as planned and transfer to hospital is required. This doesn’t mean your homebirth failed! Planning a homebirth improves your chances of a good outcome even if you end up birthing in hospital. Today Abby Sidery from @birthcirclesydney talks to us about her homebirth transfer and why it was still the most exhilarating experience even though nothing went to plan.&...

The evidence on the safety of homebirth is well-established. This episode presents some of the research about the physical outcomes that you can expect for yourself and your baby if you plan to give birth at home. This episode explores the research for women with uncomplicated pregnancies and the evidence on higher risk homebirth scenario's will be explored in future episodes. The information in this episode can help you d...

Having a great birth after a previous caesarean relies on 4 key elements. Some of these elements are provided by your care provider and some of them you can control. Find out how you can facilitate a positive and respectful birth after a previous caesarean section from my conversation with Dr Hazel Keedle as she talks us through the main points of her new book ‘The clinicians guide to a bett...

A new research paper is causing concern amongst the birthing community this week after a local newspaper said that the study shows that outcomes are better in private obstetric-led care compared to the public maternity care system. Of course, there is more to the story (remember newspapers write at a 12 year old reading level). Come be part of a grown up and nuanced conversation about this n...

Women are at risk of violence in life, and sadly also during labour and birth, but what does violence against women look like during birth? Mel explains what obstetric violence is, how common it is and how to reduce the chances of being exposed to violence during your birth. As women we take steps to keep ourselves safe in life, and unfortunately we have to be just as strategic during birth....

What an episode! This one had me hooked! Did you realise we have tiny organisms that live on and in every part of our body; collectively it’s called the ‘microbiome’. A healthy microbiome directly links with health benefits in pregnancy for you and the lifetime health of your baby (way more than you think!). This week, microbiome expert Rebecca Edwards from Read more