Dr Sarah Buckley

Hormonal Physiology of Childbirth: How to eat an elephant

by

“This report, prepared by Dr. Sarah Buckley in collaboration with Childbirth Connection Programs at the National Partnership for Women & Families, will be retrospectively evaluated as one of the most revolutionary and influential publications on maternity and newborn care ever issued.” (Foreword, p.v)

The Hormonal Physiology of Childbearing report

Please open!

I hope that you have had the chance to look at my report, Hormonal Physiology of Childbearing, available in full for free  here. 

It is a very long and in-depth report- what we refer to as “the Mother Ship” in that we are anticipating that it will be used as a source document for many other publications, including ones that you might write!

As with metaphorically, “eating an elephant”, I suggest that you approach it in small bites, and look for the areas that interest you. Because this is a pdf file, you can use the search function to find any topic.

Tasty topics!

Here are some of my favourite topics and sections.

  • What preparations do mothers and babies make, even before labour begins, to ensure a safe passage? (Chapter 2.1)
  • How might foreshortening these processes with induction or pre labour caesarean impact mothers and babies? (Ch 2.2)
  • How does oxytocin, hormone of love, benefit mothers and babies in childbearing?(Ch 3.1)
  • Could the use of synthetic oxytocin impact the oxytocin systems of mothers and babies in the short and even longer-terms? (Ch 3.2)
  • Can events at birth such as induction and cesarean, impact longer-term health and wellbeing? (Ch 1)

General recommendations

These are my general suggestions for approaching this document.

For parents

I suggest you first check out the

If you want more juicy details then read

  • The abstract (page i)

  • The Executive Summary (ES) of the Introduction (p x-xi)

If you want even more, read the rest of the ES and then the Introduction (Chapter 1, p1-13)

Birth professionals

I recommend reading

  • The abstract (page i)

  • Foreword (p v-vi)

  • Executive summary

  • Introduction (chapter 1).

Chapter 2 details the amazing process that proceed physiologic (spontaneous) labour onset, including how amazing our bodies are.

If you are an oxytocin lover, you’ll want to dive right into Chapter 3. Take it from there….

Again, the full report and related materials are all free to download here. 

Also, check out the fabulous mother-friendly infographic and  booklet.

NB Readers:  Because the report is a pdf file, you can use the search function to find any topic.

I’d love to get any feedback and questions as we are currently preparing FAQs Please email me at info [at] sarahbuckley.com.