Vanessa Scarf – The Conversation

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November 12, 2024

Fetal monitoring can be essential during labour – but many women don’t realise they have choices

Kate Levett, University of Notre Dame Australia; Deborah Fox, University of Technology Sydney, and Vanessa Scarf, University of Technology Sydney

If there are complexities or greater risks, or labour has been artificially induced, continuous monitoring is recommended. New research explores how this affects the experience of birth.

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March 8, 2022

Private obstetric care increases the chance of caesarean birth, regardless of health needs and wishes

Serena Yu, University of Technology Sydney; Caroline Homer, Burnet Institute; Denzil G Fiebig, UNSW ; Rosalie Viney, University of Technology Sydney, and Vanessa Scarf, University of Technology Sydney

We looked at almost 300,000 births and found those mothers in the private system were more likely to have a caesarean – even if they didn’t really want or need one.

Birth centres are a good option for women with low-risk pregnancies, but availability is limited. Lolostock/Shutterstock

October 29, 2019

Having a baby at a birth centre is as safe as hospital but results in less intervention

Caroline Homer, Burnet Institute; David Ellwood, Griffith University; Hannah Dahlen, Western Sydney University, and Vanessa Scarf, University of Technology Sydney

Compared to women who give birth in a birth centre, those who give birth in hospitals are much more likely to have interventions – from epidurals, to labour augmentation and caesarean deliveries.

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