This episode is all about assessment of labour as we interview Dr Clare Davison.  Clare is a midwife, academic and feminist. Clare is passionate about promoting and supporting physiological birth and working with women so that they can be empowered in their birth choices. Clare combines these passions by working as an independent midwife, providing holistic continuity of care to women; and as an academic teaching and hoping to inspire the next generation of midwives. We delve into those questions you wanna know:  What is the cervix saying in labour? How can we properly assess labour progress? How do midwives using their other senses? We ask how can midwives and health professionals trust birth and support women if they are not being given the skills to support physiological birth progress and use their intuition? And we even ask: How many contractions ‘should’ there be for an “effective” labour?  How quickly ’should’ the cervix dilate?  How often ‘should’ a vaginal examination occur?  And when can we assess that labour has actually started? Find out lots in this episode of the cauldron, so, tie up your shoelaces, plug in your headphones and come with us on a ride into the world of assessing labour progress….  Dr Clare Davison: Instagram @midwife.dr.clare Twitter @sagefemmeclare  Support the show Produced and edited by Katie James - Support the show via our Patreon page or at BuyMeACoffee Music Joseph McDade Like this podcast? Then head over to leave us a review here Want more from Katie and Rachel? Katie's website with links to courses and more Rachel's website with links to courses, blogs, books and the collective