Natural childbirth is the safest for a child and mother, and now it can also be easier and less painful, experts said at a Monday press meeting in Warsaw.
Women who have decided to give birth through nature, but are afraid of pain, now have at their disposal – in addition to anesthesia – a maternity gel that is safe for the baby and mother. It reduces by 30-40 percent. frictional forces in the birth canal through which the child is born, and therefore reduces pain and the risk of perineal injury – said Dr. Urszula Markowska from the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Medical University of Silesia.
Research conducted among over 30 pregnant women have shown that the use of obstetric gel (Dianatal) shortens the second stage of labor by one third (26 minutes on average), i.e. the period of fetal displacement, and therefore reduces the frequency of painful perineal tears and pelvic floor damage. The entire birth is shortened by an average of 106 minutes, i.e. also by a third. In Polish hospitals, the gel has been used so far in over 100 births.
According to the data of the Central Statistical Office, in 2010 as much as 34 percent. out of 418 thousand children born in Poland were born by caesarean section. Meanwhile, according to the findings of the World Health Organization (WHO), the percentage of pregnant women with strict indications for this type of delivery is around 15%.
Despite this, all over the world, the number of cesarean sections is systematically increasing, emphasized prof. Romuald Dębski, head of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic of the Medical Center of Postgraduate Education in Warsaw. This is especially true of South American countries such as Chile, Brazil and China. In Poland, in 2005, the percentage of these births was 27%, and in 2009 – 32%. When I started working as an obstetrician, the cesarean section rate was 8%, and now some hospitals exceed 60%. The specialist said.
In his opinion, the causes of this phenomenon are complex. First of all, more and more women are now giving birth who would not have a chance to give birth naturally, for example many women treated for infertility. Secondly, cesarean delivery has become much safer than it used to be and it is easier for doctors to decide whether to perform it. And thirdly, there was a widespread belief among women that childbirth was safer for babies and less painful than natural delivery.
Meanwhile, natural childbirth is the safest for the mother and child, although it requires control, because in 15% of cases it requires control. cases will have to end with a cesarean section – emphasized prof. Debski.
The advantage of natural childbirth is also the fact that the mother can immediately hug and look after the baby.
According to Dębski, the amount of pain after a caesarean section does not have to be less than after a natural delivery, only that it is spread over time and can be relieved with painkillers.
However, fear of pain is the main reason for fear of a natural solution in almost half of pregnant women, according to a study by the research agency GFK Polonia in 2010. Many women tell me that they will decide to get pregnant provided I give them birth by caesarean section, because they are so afraid of pain – emphasized Dębski.
He explained that pain during childbirth has many causes. One of them is the strong contractions of the uterus, which compress the nerves and temporarily tighten the vessels, which in turn hinders the outflow of metabolic products that irritate the nerve endings. The stretching cervix also hurts. Many women experience discomfort and pain during a gynecological examination with two fingers, and during delivery, the main child with a diameter of 10-12 cm passes through the cervical canal. The fetus, by pressing its head on the nerves near the spine, causes pain in the sacrum area, and when the head is at the pelvic floor – the perineal tissues hurt.
Labor pain can be alleviated through appropriate breathing techniques, birthing positions, using a warm shower in the sacral area or anesthesia (although in many institutions it cannot be used, among others due to the low cost of delivery). You can also use the technique of shortening labor pain with the help of obstetric gels.
Its advantage is that it makes the soft tissues of the birth canal more flexible and significantly reduces the risk of their damage. Polish studies show that this happens in almost 23 percent. women giving birth by force of nature. The most common ones are: perineal and cervical rupture, but the anal sphincter may also rupture, which is an indication for caesarean section in subsequent deliveries.
Obstetric gel also significantly reduces the need for surgical intervention, i.e. incision of the perineum, emphasized Dr. Markowska. In Polish hospitals, it is still routinely performed in about 80-100 percent. natural childbirth, although, according to research, refraining from it reduces the risk of serious injury by a third.
According to prof. Dębski, an incision of the perineum requires only 20-25 percent. giving birth.
Currently, women who want to use a maternity gel during childbirth should inform their doctor or midwife about it in order to check its availability in their hospital. The price of the gel is high and amounts to PLN 400 (PAP)