A maternity hospital in England has found a way to avoid childbirth breaks.
Women in labor at the Medway Maritime Hospital are no longer forced to pretend to be canoeists during fights, who are constantly shouting instructions. Their bodies are allowed to go at their own pace and not rush through the birthing process. The belief that a woman probably knows better what is going on inside her than someone else on the outside has led to a decrease in breaks from 7% to just 1% in 12 months.
Women are also encouraged to try positions other than just lying on their back. For example, standing up straight, standing on all fours, or squatting. Many people who have given birth confirm that when they lie on their backs during labor, they have a strong desire to get into a more comfortable position. The supine position reduces blood flow and closes the pelvic region by up to 20%, increasing the likelihood of rupture. The World Health Organization has even issued a recommendation against such a provision, calling it “clearly unsafe” .
The midwives at the hospital have added some more techniques to preserve the perineum during contractions. So, they hold the child and allow him to slowly leave the mother’s womb, and do not pull him out as soon as his shoulders appear.
However, if the mother or child is in danger and there are some complications, then the midwives take emergency measures, including telling the woman in labor to push. There are no rules without exception. But birth in most cases is a simple process. The female body at the genetic level knows how to extract babies. If this is not the case, then doctors and midwives are standing nearby, trained on what to do if something goes wrong.
The reduction from 7% to 1% was so impressive that the results of the program were published in the European journal Gynecology and Reproductive Biology for the information of all maternity hospitals in the European Union. The British plan to introduce this method at the state level as reducing the risks associated with childbirth.