Natural childbirth: maternity hospitals more attentive

Let’s face it: maternity hospitals are more attentive to the desires of future mothers. More than 300 establishments have already positioned themselves for more personalized care of pregnancy and more active participation of parents at birth. The birthing position on the back, called gynecological, begins to be abandoned in favor of positions which more respects the physiology of women. Remember that this position was invented in the XNUMXth century by Morisseau for a very practical reason: to facilitate the use of forceps! And as the process then developed, the position remained, especially since it was also more convenient to monitor the perineum. Do not think that giving birth on the back is an innate position for expectant mothers …

Childbirth on the back, soon over?

Today, epidurals have evolved. They are lighter and leave a certain freedom to women who are no longer necessarily obliged to stay in bed (when everything is going well). Advances in medicine have also contributed to greater reliability of monitoring, allowing mothers-to-be to move and rest. participate more actively in their childbirth. It would be a shame to deprive yourself ! Also, the different positions of childbirth are resuming! “The mother-to-be can choose her birthing position only if the staff is trained,” explains Bernadette de Gasquet. This is the whole problem. This change in approach to childbirth is ultimately only quite recent, and many midwives and gynecologists are not trained to meet the demand of mothers who wish to give birth other than in a gynecological position. Another obstacle for medical teams: the lack of suitable facilities for practicing other postures. In a way, it would be necessary to review everything and relearn everything… According to Dr de Gasquet, “intra-muros Parisian maternities are less trained than those in the provinces and even in the suburbs. There is therefore a real effort to be made in terms of training childbirth professionals who believe that “the pelvis that does not move”. “

A personalized delivery

Do not hesitate to inquire at your maternity ward to find out if moms have a certain freedom of position during childbirth. Also discuss it with the midwife who is there to listen to you and prepare you to best meet your expectations. You should also know that you are entitled to ask for another midwife if the one who accompanies you during childbirth is not trained in postures other than the gynecological position.

Despite everything, he is still difficult, if not impossible, to know in advance which position will be the most suitable. Know that there are no ideal postures for childbirth, nor positions that are suitable for everyone. Every birth is different and it’s up to each mother-to-be to find what suits her best. The “must” would of course be for women to be offered different positions according to their physical, psychological and obstetrical characteristics. Maybe one day, who knows …