Unnecessary Caesarean sections cost the national coffers €3.7 million in 2011, money that could have been invested elsewhere had mothers been encouraged to give normal birth.
There has never been a more critical moment than right now to change the medicalised system
Malta Midwives Association president Mary Buttigieg Said estimated that the cost of childbirth is rising as the rate of C-sections increases.
“In one single year, from 2010 to 2011, the high rate of C-sections meant an additional expense of more than €1.5 million,” she said, deeming the money spent “a waste of resources”.
“Savings from the unnecessary interventions could be used for other useful projects such as a midwifery-led unit,” said Ms Buttigieg Said when addressing the International Confederation of Midwives’ conference at the Vivaldi Hotel in St Julians, attended by representatives from all over the world.
She said such unnecessary expenses were depriving women and their families of a holistic model of care.
“What if we were all forced to come to this conference wearing burnt orange dresses? Childbirth is not a one size fits all,” she said.
The World Health Organisation recommends an annual average of C-sections of 10 to 15 per cent. Malta’s rate stands at 34 per cent, the highest in the EU.
At the moment, all pregnant mothers are expected to give birth at hospital but the association is insisting that “low-risk women” should be given a “safe choice”.
She said midwives were constantly told to promote epidurals and analgesics in childbirth and that “labour pain” was deemed as “unacceptable”.
“There has never been a more critical moment than right now to change the medicalised system into one which is built around what is best for the woman and the baby,” she said, expressing hope that the system would change before she reaches retirement age.
Thirty midwives were working on a project entitled Normalising Childbirth, in collaboration with the University of West England Bristol.
“The project highlights the importance that all pregnant women have the chance to experience childbirth in a normal and non-medicalised aspect,” Ms Buttigieg told The Times.
“We need a system that is built around what is best for women and for babies.”
Health Minister Godfrey Farrugia highlighted the fact that the majority of expectant mothers in Malta were healthy and had a very low risk of childbearing complications. He said pregnancy was a state of “well-being” and not an “inherently sick state”.
“Let’s practise good management by minimising the amount of unnecessary interventions that not only drive up costs but possibly even increase health risks to women and newborns,” said Dr Farrugia.
Women who received models of midwife-led care were:
• 8 times more likely to experience foetal loss before 24 weeks;
• 21 per cent less likely to have regional analgesia;
• 14 per cent less likely to have instrumental birth;
• 18 per cent less likely to have an episiotomy;
• Significantly more likely to have a spontaneous vaginal birth;
• Initiate breastfeeding and feel in control.
Source: Cochrane Systematic Review of midwife-led care