For many years there has been growing concern about the culture of fear that is penetrating maternity services throughout the world, and that the fear felt by maternity care workers is directly and indirectly being transferred to the women and families they serve. The consequences of fear includes increased risk of defensive practice, where the woman and her family become potential enemies to those providing her care. In addition, the prevailing risk management and 'tick box' culture in maternity services encourages maternity workers to give priority to the records instead of the childbearing woman. These factors contribute to the dissatisfaction felt by those using and providing maternity services, and the apparent lack of kindness and respect. There is however increasing evidence that kindness, compassion and mutual respect improves efficiency, effectiveness, experience and staff morale within healthcare settings. The Roar Behind the Silence provides information, inspiration and practical suggestions to support maternity care workers, policy makers, and maternity care funders across the world in their quest to deliver sensitive, compassionate and high quality maternity services. The book highlights examples of good practice, and practical tools for making change happen, using evidence and stories where appropriate. Edited by Sheena Byrom & Soo Downe, with contributions by Hana Ruth Abel, Maria Helena Bastos, Dean Beaumont, Dianne Bowser, Anna Byrom, Sheena Byrom, Penny Campling, Michael Clift, Hannah Dahlen, Raymond de Vries, Soo Downe, Ngai Fen Cheung, Julie Frohlich, Kathryn Guttridge, Jennifer Hall, Shelagh Heneghan, Milli Hill, Billie Hunter, Mavis Kirkham, Mande Limbu, Amali Lokugamage, Kerstin Uvnas Moberg, Mercedes Perez-Botella, Gill Phillips, Elizabeth Prochaska, Progress Theatre Group, Rineke Schram, Anna Ternovszky, Lucie Warren and Robin Youngson.

Squaring the Circle is a cutting-edge and comprehensive collection of the latest research and debate on normal childbirth. Based on a salutogenic approach - focusing on factors that support human health and well-being, rather than on factors that cause disease - it helps our understanding of what works and why it works, as well as helping health practitioners turn this knowledge into best practice. Written by world-renowned experts in their field, and edited by Soo Downe and Sheena Byrom, the editors of the acclaimed The Roar Behind the Silence, Squaring the Circle includes an examination of a range of associated evidence in areas as diverse as architecture for optimal birth environments, the impact of birth events on neonatal DNA methylation and the microbiome, the current knowledge base around oxytocin production in labour, and the role of emotion in the workplace. Case studies of successful change from around the world - from service users, activists and maternity care staff - provide inspiration for innovation while hints and tips help to make such change happen.

A midwife's heartwarming and inspirational true story Catching Babies is a moving account of an extraordinary career. It reveals the unique experiences that filled midwife Sheena Byrom's days as she looked after mums and dads and helped to bring their precious babies into the world. From her very first day as a nervous student nurse in Blackburn to the dedicated completion of her midwifery qualifications in Burnley, Sheena has never once looked back, enjoying a thirty-five-year career with the NHS. At the forefront of evolving medical practices, she was the first midwife to oversee a home water birth in her area, but also found herself at the centre of a traumatic delivery that tested her to her limits. Yet, whatever has come Sheena's way, ultimately, there are the strong mothers who taught her so much and the little miracles who have made every single moment as a midwife truly magical.