#MaternityAdvent Day 7 The bath An incredibly useful tool both in early & active labour. Often a bit narrow for birth itself but occassionally speedy babies make their own decisions about where they are coming. #DerbyMaternity #UHDBmaternity #TeamUHDB #MaternityAdvent2021

#MaternityAdvent Day 8 Car Park babies Usually occurs during a cold rainy night! Positions vary: if mum is in the front (may have feet up against the dash or have you stretching into the footwell) or back of the car (more space but legs anywhere!) #DerbyMaternity #UHDBmaternity

#MaternityAdvent Day 9 All fours position All fours is a great position for all stages of labour but especially for 2nd stage. It makes back massage easy, eases back pain and uses gravity to help babies rotate. #MaternityAdvent2021 #TeamUHDB #DerbyMaternity #UHDBmaternity

#MaternityAdvent Day 10 Forward leaning inversion A rather extreme & scary looking position suggested by SpinningBabies.com to create room in the lower uterus for a baby with slow decent from malposition. #maternityadvent2021 #UHDBmaternity #TeamUHDB #DerbyMaternity

#MaternityAdvent Day 11 Flying Cowgirl This is a position suggested to facilitate decent with an epidural in place or if its not practical to get off the bed. A position that can be done while "resting" on one side with the aim of opening the pelvic inlet. #MaternityAdvent2021

#MaternityAdvent Day 12 The Wheelchair Sometimes its a race to get to the room. Sometimes its just too much of a challenge. And sometimes you make it to the room and just don't manage to transfer out of the chair. Babies come anytime and anywhere. #MaternityAdvent2021 #TeamUHDB

#MaternityAdvent Day 12 The Wheelchair There is growing literature on the use of water for women with mobilty issues as buoyancy & warmth can be beneficial & give women greater freedom of movement but will need risk assessing & planning. #MaternityAdvent2021 #TeamUHDB

#MaternityAdvent Day 12 The Wheelchair We need to be creative for women with mobility issues to achieve a birth which is safe, practical and satisfying. #MaternityAdvent2021 #TeamUHDB #DerbyMaternity #UHDBmaternity

#MaternityAdvent Day 13 In the shower Use of the shower as a tool for analgesia during labour will result in the occassional baby being born in the shower. This will inevitably be a wet experience for the midwife & complicated if wearing glasses. #DerbyMaternity #UHDBmaternity

#MaternityAdvent Day 14 Squatting Some of the earliest records of birth positions are bas-relief images in the temples of ancient Eygpt showing Cleopatra giving birth in a squatting position. Squatting continued as the most common birth position until the last few centuries

#MaternityAdvent Day 15 Standing Standing is the ultimate upright birth postion making the most of gravity & taking pressure of the back & sacrum. Standing encourages mobility & may actually incorporate several different positions whilst allowing the woman to rock & sway

#MaternityAdvent Day 16 The CombiTrac It may look strange, but the Combitrac system is designed to keep women mobile & encourage upright birth positions. The system involves partners too by giving them a place to sit where they can be actively involved. #MaternityAdvent2021

#MaternityAdvent Day 17 Reception Better than a car park baby but still traumatic both for the women & our reception staff, sometimes babies just don't give us time. The ultimate example of upright birth, someone who has walked in, leaned on the desk & gravity does the rest.

#MaternityAdvent Day 18 Walcher's Position This is another Spinning Babies position which they suggest should be used as a last resort to open the pelvic brim for poor descent. #DerbyMaternity #UHDBmaternity #TeamUHDB #MaternityAdvent2021

#MaternityAdvent Day 19 Birthing Ball Ok so not strictly a position but one of our more popular tools to help facilitate a great birthing position. The birthing ball can be used to support several positions during both 1st & 2nd stages of labour. #MaternityAdvent2021 #TeamUHDB

#MaternityAdvent Day 20 Kneeling A brilliant example of an upright birth position which uses gravity, relieves back pain, avoids compression of the aorta, allows the sacrum & coccyx to move & opens the pelvic outlet (Gupta et al, 2019). #MaternityAdvent2021 #TeamUHDB

#MaternityAdvent Day 21 On the toilet Labouring on the toilet is a position that many women find comfortable. Add to that the fact that women often feel like they need a poo & its inevitable that sometimes babies will come! #MaternityAdvent2021 #UHDBmaternity #DerbyMaternity

#MaternityAdvent Day 22 Lunge position This is a great position for a mobile labourer when the baby is not descending well or is in a tricky position. The leg is opened to the side, resting on a mattress, stool or step. #maternityadvent2021 #UHDBmaternity #DerbyMaternity

#MaternityAdvent Day 23 Waterbirth It is well known that water is an extremely effective form of analgesia & evidence suggests that women who birth in water need less pharmacological analgesia & experience greater satisfaction #MaternityAdvent2021 #UHDBmaternity #DerbyMaternity

Today's good egg is Derby HCA Leah Morral. "This woman needs a pride of Britain award! Not only does she work her socks off to provide the best care for the women. She is literally a life saver on those incredibly busy shifts." #MaternityGoodEggs #TeamUHDB #UHDBmaternity