Childbirth: 'Nature should be allowed to take its course'
It was imperative to allow nature to take its course and keep childbirth as normal as possible, a confernece for midwives and expectant mothers has been told.
Welsh consultant midwife Grace Thomas said there should not be any medical interventions unless they were absolutely necessary.
Interventions, she said, were like a line of dominos - when one fell, it brought all the others tumbling down.
There have been concerns locally about a high rate of inductions for childbirth when compared to the European average.
"If you induce labour, which is very common in Malta and happens in one-third of births, it leads to further interventions. Normally the mothers will need to have their water broken, a drip in the arm and oxytocin to help labour progress. This means that they will need to be monitored to ensure that the baby is ok, which will in turn mean that they have to lie in bed," Ms Thomas said.
"Some women do need interventions and it is very important that they are available. But it is imperative to minimise interventions so that women have the chance to give birth normally," she said, adding that although birth was a normal process, Western countries had made it very medicalised, a concern that has long been raised by local midwives.
Sina Bugeja, the chief executive of the Foundation for Social Welfare Services, stressed that women had the right to information which could allow them to make an informed choice. They should also be able to have an active participation in decision-taking during labour.
Health Parliamentary Secretary Joe Cassar, who opened the conference, said there was nothing better than natural birth, even because women tended to recover quicker.
Earlier, conference participants said women want familiar faces around them at childbirth.
A first-time mother who is expected to give birth in three weeks' time said that although she went to her gynaecologist throughout pregnancy, she had no guarantee that the doctor would be there when she went into labour.
"I would have paid double to have the person who followed me throughout pregnancy be with me when I am giving birth," she said.
Another expectant mother, Maria Mifsud, who is seven months pregnant with her first child, also highlighted the importance of forging a relationship with the person who would be helping her during labour.
"I would love to have someone following me throughout pregnancy and who would come with me in the delivery room," she said, adding that there was not enough one-to-one contact with midwives.
According to midwife Ċensina Deschrijver, mothers felt much more comfortable when somebody they had met before was with them when they gave birth. She has seen the difference even when she had spoken to the expectant mother just once beforehand.
Ms Deschrijver said women who gave birth at home were more cooperative, highlighting the importance that mothers-to-be were made as comfortable as possible during labour.
"When they are calm, their body releases more endorphins and they can tackle contractions better," she said.
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charmaine mangion
Oct 20th 2009, 19:15
i think each case has its story. pregnant twice i had an elective c-section at 39 weeks as i knew from an x-ray that my pelvis was far too small to handle natural birth. the 2nd one i still knew that a c-section was my only option but my son decided to come earlier and i had to have an emergency c-section at 38 weeks. even if he was born at 9pm i had my specialist with me at st lukes and i had a wonderful epidular c-section. i was told how bad c-sections were but for me the most important thing is that my babies were safe and healthy.
Olivia Pace
Oct 20th 2009, 16:45
I totally agree with Maruska. Why should a woman be induced because the consultant works on a particular day at Mater Dei?
And more often than not you don't get a glimpse of the consultant while you are at hospital.It might be cause he'll be in outpatients or on vacation or sick leave but i would still feel more safe if he was actually there ( after probably spending a number of euros to view him at a private clinic you WOULD expect him to come and visit at least) .
Sue Mercieca
Oct 20th 2009, 13:46
Birth is a natural process. Most of the time mothers do not need medical help but friendly and sisterly support. It all depends where the mothers decide to give birth which will eventually decide how 'natural' their birth will be. Some medical staff may make birth sound like a production process in some factory, when its a very natural phenomena which has been happening since Adam and Eve. My son was born in ten minutes flat. The water broke naturally a few hours before, the contractions started some time later. Marianne and Anna who had followed me throughout the pregnancy were there at the precise moment. A beautiful moment indeed. No medical intervention was necessary - but it was there - just in case. In my opinion - thats how birth should be. Less interventions or procedures should also mean less cost for the taxpayers at the end of the day. isnt that how one should look at it?
j theuma
Oct 20th 2009, 13:44
i want to say my experience. my girlfriend had an epidural and she went really well. the anaesthetist who did this epidural took his time to explain all the risks and how my girlfriend and the baby will benefit from this. if it wasn't for the epidural, our baby would not be born normally because then the epidural was used for the operation to get the baby out. and my girlfriend was the whole nine months pregnant (41 weeks) so i think it is not faer to say that doctors should not be involved in the birth. Thanks again to miss maryanne the midwife and young but bravu dr borg who gave her the epidural
Maruska Agius
Oct 20th 2009, 12:00
When I gave birth last July, during the Parentcraft course, the midwife said 2 out of 3 births are Cesearean. In Summer this can escalate because births are induced so that the Specialists are on duty during the birth and are not called in case of emergencies during their Summer breaks. Amazing huh!!!!
Jane camilleri haber
Oct 20th 2009, 11:38
Mariane Theuma helped me celebrate my motherhood and boosted my expectations four times round with her sisterly enthusiastic and love -of -life presence. If expectant parents had people like her kind round them from the day of conception of their ofspring, planned or otherwise,I beleive very few would be able to decide for abortion, or live through anxiety of any type related to their birthing day. thanks Mariane, may God repay you a hundred times for helping me forge such unforgetable memories
C.A.Magdi
Oct 20th 2009, 11:31
Inducing birth is always a woman's decision if she wants or not. I didn't accept cause I know that natural birth is best for the baby. I don't think it is only the midwives or doctor's fault. Women should learn more about pregnancy and then they would wait for when their baby is ready. Some women just want to get over with it and don't wait for those maybe 2 extra days. My daughter was due on the 20th but I waited and 2 days afterwards she was ready.
Mariella Galea
Oct 20th 2009, 11:07
and about time too!! 10 years ago I was forced to go through 30 hours of Labour which left me without strength by the time I had the real contractions and was 5 minutes away from a cesarean.
I am still angry the way they treat preganat women as if they were animals ready for the killing... 10 years ago 18 pregnant women all of us in our 38/39th week of pregancy were given an aenema one after another... there were only 4 toilets and no toilet paper... even though the night before a whole trolley was brought in the ward. and we had to stomp on each other to reach the toilets.
This never comes up because with the birth of the child it is all forgotten.
But this is the truth... and all this happens so the work is done during the day shift not at night.
M. Brincat
Oct 20th 2009, 10:28
Huh! Now they come to terms with nature? It's a well known secret - your child is born not when "nature calls", but when your Specialist is on duty!