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Fetal Monitoring Academy Annual Subscription

Enrolments are now open! Save with a once a year payment.

I suspect there is no other practice in healthcare that is surrounded by as many myths as fetal monitoring is. Cutting through the nonsense is hard - it gets repeated in all the places where you should be able to learn something you can trust. You want to do better - be better - but where do you start?

The Fetal Monitoring Academy. Step into a refreshing learning environment where you can understand AND trust the information being  taught. Build your knowledge at a pace that is comfortable for you. Once you know more, your practice will inevitably shift to be more evidence-based. Your confidence in talking about fetal monitoring options will increase. And whenever you come up against a question you don't know the answer to - the Academy will be waiting for you.

What you'll find inside:

  • Hours and hours of comprehensive educational resources about fetal monitoring
  • Input into the future direction of the Academy - tell me what you want me to make and I'll do my best to build it!
  • Free access to the private Facebook group, where you can connect, learn from, and support your fellow Academy Members.
  • All your questions answered by a fetal monitoring expert.

While you continue to pay your annual subscription fee, the price will stay at $220 AUD / year, even when the price for new subscriptions goes up! As long as you stay signed up, you will have access to the Academy for as long as it exists!

Here's a glimpse of what's waiting for you on the other side of the Academy doors...

Fetal Monitoring Academy

  1. Start here!

    10 lessons
    1. Welcome!
    2. Acknowledgement of Country
    3. How to use the Academy
    4. Find the Fetal Monitoring Academy on Facebook!
    5. Some important things I want you to know
    6. Introducing Dr Kirsten Small
    7. Why I don't use the term CEFM
    8. A few words about language
    9. Summary
    10. Start Here: Knowledge Check

  2. How and why we do fetal monitoring

    10 lessons
    1. Introduction
    2. Intermittent auscultation
    3. Cardiotocography
    4. Telemetry
    5. Digital CTGs
    6. How does it work?
    7. What is it meant to do?
    8. Is any fetal heart rate monitoring better than none at all?
    9. Summary
    10. How and why we do fetal monitoring: Knowledge Check

  3. Understanding research

    10 lessons
    1. Introduction
    2. Asking and answering research questions
    3. What is a randomised controlled trial?
    4. When is a randomised controlled trial not very useful?
    5. Systematic literature reviews
    6. Research maths
    7. Statistics made simple
    8. Forest plots are fun!
    9. Summary
    10. Understanding research: Knowledge Check

  4. What went into the Cochrane review?

    11 lessons
    1. Introduction
    2. When and where
    3. Starting at the start
    4. Disbelief and the response
    5. The Dublin trial
    6. More from the 80s
    7. Preterm birth
    8. Tossing a coin
    9. The final one
    10. Summary
    11. What went into the Cochrane review?: Knowledge Check

  5. What does the evidence ACTUALLY say?

    9 lessons
    1. Introduction
    2. Mortality
    3. Brain injury
    4. Neonatal seizures
    5. Mode of birth
    6. Pain management and oxytocin use
    7. What is missing?
    8. Summary
    9. What does the evidence actually say?: Knowledge Check

  6. What about women with risk factors?

    7 lessons
    1. Introduction
    2. Why the data on risk are really messy.....
    3. Outcomes for babies
    4. Maternal outcomes
    5. Single risk outcomes
    6. Summary
    7. What about women with risk factors?: Knowledge Check

  7. Commonly asked questions

    14 lessons
    1. Introduction
    2. But you can't not monitor the fetus in labour?!?!
    3. But the studies were underpowered...
    4. But the evidence is old and not great quality...
    5. But there's other evidence CTGs work...
    6. But the problem is people...
    7. What about admission CTGs?
    8. What about antenatal CTGs?
    9. What about Dawes-Redman?
    10. What about telemetry?
    11. But we are short staffed...
    12. But the guidelines are better now...
    13. Commonly asked questions: Knowledge Check
    14. Summary

  8. Exploring the downsides

    11 lessons
    1. Introduction
    2. Harms from specific monitoring equipment
    3. Caesarean section and how it affects women and babies
    4. Instrumental birth and how it affects women and babies
    5. Anxiety
    6. Autism and Doppler use?
    7. Extra work for maternity professionals
    8. Women's experiences of care
    9. What isn't getting done
    10. Summary
    11. Exploring the downsides: Knowledge Check

  9. Decision supporting conversations

    9 lessons
    1. Introduction
    2. Who makes decisions?
    3. Change your language
    4. Communicating risk
    5. Questions for women to ask their maternity professional
    6. Questions for women to ask themselves
    7. Advice for women about communicating their decision
    8. Summary
    9. Decision supporting conversations: Knowledge check

  10. Confident Intermittent Auscultation

    8 lessons
    1. Introduction
    2. What does the evidence say - The Cochrane Review
    3. What does the evidence say? Other evidence and a side quest into fetal physiology
    4. How to do Confident Intermittent Auscultation 1 - 3
    5. How to do Confident Intermittent Auscultation 4 - 8
    6. Power / Policy / Politics Part 1
    7. Power / Policy / Politics Part 2
    8. Q&A

  11. Central fetal monitoring: Sorting fact from fiction

    5 lessons
    1. Introduction
    2. Does central fetal monitoring make care safer?
    3. Does central fetal monitoring undermine the development of CTG monitoring skills?
    4. Summary
    5. Central fetal monitoring: Knowledge check

  12. Fetal Spiral Electrodes: the real story

    6 lessons
    1. Introduction
    2. The evidence about fetal spiral electrodes part 1
    3. The evidence about fetal spiral electrodes part 2
    4. The evidence about intrauterine pressure catheters
    5. Summary
    6. Fetal Spiral Electrodes: Knowledge check

  13. Physiology for Fetal Monitoring: A Masterclass

    25 lessons
    1. In conversation with Dr Christopher Lear
    2. What is this all about?

    1. Introduction

      1. Welcome!
      2. What is in this module

    2. A primer in physiology

      1. What is physiology?
      2. What the heart does
      3. How heart rate is regulated
      4. What oxygen does
      5. How oxygen levels are regulated

    3. A quick reminder about fetal heart rate monitoring

      1. The theoretical basis of fetal heart rate monitoring
      2. Interpreting fetal heart rate patterns
      3. Why is knowing physiology vital?

    4. How do we know what we know?

      1. The stethoscope
      2. Deciding what was "normal"
      3. Then the new toys arrived
      4. And then the CTG was invented
      5. Who was Edward Hon?
      6. Who was Caldeyro Barcia?
      7. How was the research done?
      8. The Fetal Sheep Model

    5. All about pH and lactate

      1. What are acids and bases?
      2. Understanding pH
      3. How pH is regulated
      4. What is base excess?
      5. My wee rant about the Vital Trace Continuous Lactate Monitoring device

  14. What's the deal with VBAC?

    11 lessons
    1. Introduction
    2. What is in the course?
    3. What happens in maternity care?
    4. What is fetal heart rate monitoring meant to do?
    5. Am I really "high risk"?
    6. What does the research say?
    7. Surely there must be other research?
    8. What are the downsides?
    9. It's your choice
    10. Closing thoughts
    11. In conversation with Dr Hazel Keedle

  15. The role of CTG monitoring in hospital practice

    2 lessons
    1. Introduction
    2. The recording

  16. How to get the best from the RANZCOG Intrapartum Fetal Surveillance Guideline

    9 lessons
    1. What's in, What's out, What's the same
    2. Why the evidence doesn't matter (shocking - I know!)
    3. Your new obligations and opportunities
    4. Three traps to be aware of
    5. Your responsibilities when CTG monitoring is chosen
    6. There's more work to be done
    7. What's in, what's out, what's the same - the cheat sheet
    8. The Risk List and a conversation guide
    9. Feedback survey

  17. Interested in becoming a Birth Small Talk Affiliate?

    4 lessons
    1. What is an Affiliate Program?
    2. What do I get?
    3. What are the terms and conditions?
    4. How to sign up

Feel 100% secure with a 100% money-back guarantee

I offer a 30-Day No Fuss Money-Back Guarantee.

If you don't feel completely satisfied with the Fetal Monitoring Academy within the first 30 days of your purchase, I will gladly refund your money (minus processing fees. Just contact me on info@birthsmalltalk.com to get that refund started.