Good or not, but capricious fashion confidently penetrates into all spheres of everyday life. She got to the most holy - the birth of a new man. Recently, more and more future moms have expressed a desire to give birth at home, explaining their desire for a natural process.
Let's try to understand, home birth - is it so beautiful, and is there really a danger that threatens the little one and the woman herself. The arguments of supporters and opponents are worthy to read and take note of it when making decisions that are crucial for the family.
Childbirth at home - who are “for”?
The popularity of home birth in recent years has increased dramatically. Future mummies refer to the European experience and do not want the intervention of doctors in the intimate natural process. They want to protect themselves from generic stimulation, cesarean section, use of forceps and pain relief. Resolutely do not want to adapt to the work schedule and the desire to leave early midwives or doctors, to replenish the terrifying statistics of maternity hospitals and receive as a bonus Staphylococcus aureus. The undoubted advantages that home births have, its followers call:
1. Comfortable psychological situation of the home - hospital conditions affect some women in labor oppressively and intimidating. The feeling of loneliness and the feeling of being abandoned, which puts pressure on them in the maternity hospital, cannot be experienced in the presence of close people. And dad, who is near and supports his beloved wife, can even personally cut the umbilical cord to the heir.
2. Individual qualified midwife, attentive and conscientious. (Often this item causes some doubt.)
3. The possibility of self-selection of ancestral posture - squatting, comfortably lying on its side, standing on all fours or even in the water. The latter method has a large number of adherents who consider this useful for the newborn and comfortable for the mother.
4. The absence of infections that are not at all uncommon in maternity hospitals.
5. Home births provide an opportunity to use non-standard methods of anesthesia - soft music, warm bath, proper breathing, gentle massage.
The advantages of childbirth at home should also include the fact that the crumb is immediately applied to her mother's breast, receiving the precious moisture of colostrum and providing herself with this immunity. Why, then, are there so many opponents that a woman should give birth in an environment of loved ones?
Home birth - who is "against"?
No doctor who has many years of experience will advise home birth. The reason is that even a completely safely pregnancy does not guarantee that everything will go well. According to the United Nations, every year, 529,000 mummies die during childbirth, and 4 million babies are born dead, another 4 million do not live a few days. The main reason is the lack of professional assistance during childbirth. Of course, these terrible figures reflect the picture all over the world, but there are quite a lot of real threats to the health and life of both the baby and the mother:
1. Midwives, who offer their assistance in childbirth, are not always sufficiently qualified, and sometimes do not even have medical education. In the event of non-standard situations, they are not able to provide the necessary assistance and are extremely negative about the urgent dispatch of the mother to the nearest medical facility. As a result, precious time is lost, and sometimes it is not possible to save a baby or a mommy.
2. Hypoxia of a child can lead to his death. Oxygen starvation occurs in the case of protracted labor because of too weak labor, a narrow pelvis, or a long, dry period. In the maternity hospital, in such cases, stimulation is applied, which saves the lives of the mother and baby. Midwives who take home deliveries do not resort to it, so as not to disrupt the natural process. The result is tragic and bitter.
3. Obstetric bleeding is extremely difficult to stop, it is useless to fight it at home, and it is far from always possible to take it to the nearest clinic. In 25% of women who died during childbirth, the cause of death was a large blood loss.
4. Childbirth at home does not allow for a caesarean section, and sometimes it can only save a baby. Narrow pelvis, weak labor activity, unexpected twins or triplets - there may be several reasons. Domestic midwives are opponents of this operation and the urgent sending of the woman to the hospital, so deaths are not uncommon.
5. Perineal tears are also not uncommon at birth, but in this case obstetricians, to put it mildly, are not too competent.
6. Various complications in the birth of a child occur quite often, it is difficult to predict them. Being in a hospital, where a whole team of doctors is on duty, urgent help is reliably guaranteed for the mother and child, but her home birth is practically excluded. Sometimes it takes a few minutes to save a mother or baby.
Of course, the final choice of place for the upcoming delivery remains for parents. However, it is desirable to carefully weigh the pros and cons, and only then take the only correct and responsible decision. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the factors under which giving birth outside a hospital is strongly not recommended.
Home childbirth - when it is better not to expose yourself and a crumb to danger
Even if you have already firmly decided that childbirth will take place at home, you need to weigh everything well again if there are the following factors:
- Ultrasound showed the presence of twins or triplets - protracted labor, which in this case is often premature, significantly increases the risk and danger. An obstetrician must be experienced and qualified, and children may be born with too little weight, and they will need emergency pediatric care;
- if the placenta is too low, a caesarean section will most likely be required due to the huge risk of heavy bleeding;
- various complications during pregnancy - pyelonephritis, high blood pressure, infections, edema, eclampsia;
- the future mother has uterine fibroids or ovarian tumors;
- the wrong position of the baby or the existing pathology of its development;
- premature birth (up to 36 weeks) - a real danger to the baby, it will definitely need to be placed in a special incubator;
- lack of tests and ultrasound, which the mother did not bother to do during pregnancy;
- place of residence away from the hospital, in case of unexpected complications, inability to get there on time.
It is undesirable to decide on such a serious step, if the husband categorically does not approve of childbirth at home, this is your common child and the question of his safety should be decided together.
Childbirth at home - here and abroad
A practicing obstetrician-gynecologist at one of the Russian maternity hospitals answered the question very well why home births are popular in Holland and do not cause such aversion to doctors at all. Therefore, he replied that near every house where a woman gives birth, there stands a modern, equipped with everything necessary, reanimation mobile with a set of blood substitute and plasma. If necessary, you can even perform an operation in it, and it will take several minutes to get to the nearest clinic. Deliveries at home there are allowed only to healthy women who have no contraindications and complications during pregnancy.
Many Russian women refer to the European experience and the popularity of home childbirth abroad. However, not everyone knows that not everyone shows home births. If the pregnancy proceeds normally, the doctor will meet the expectant mom and allow her to give birth in an environment of relatives. An indispensable condition is the presence of a midwife with a certificate, license and confirmation of her professionalism. She is obliged to carry with her the necessary tools and medical supplies, an IV line, equipment for pediatric intensive care, oxygen. A midwife without fail has a constant connection with the doctors of a nearby medical institution, where it will be possible to deliver the woman in the event of force majeure. A car for this is on duty near the house during the entire time of delivery.
Responsibility for home births in Russia is borne exclusively by the woman herself. Midwives are most often found on ads on the Internet or with the word of mouth. Hope that they are all qualified and conscientious is not worth it. Burning with the desire to pay tribute to fashion and to give birth at home, the future moms and dads attend special courses where they learn in detail about all the virtues and advantages of the upcoming process. They are not particularly interested in the future mom's health and the presence of complications, but sincerely and cordially offer their help in home birth. The fact that applicants have medical education is not particularly advertised. will be able to adequately assess the real threat to life and urgently deliver the woman to the clinic.
Maternity home or still giving birth at home - how to make the right choice
The last word is for mom and dad. If you are ready to take a huge responsibility for the life and health of the little ones - take a chance, but is this risk justified? Mom has nine months, during which there is an opportunity to choose a maternity hospital, a knowledgeable and experienced doctor who can be trusted, and to conclude an agreement. It is unlikely that it will be more expensive than the services of a non-professional midwife. Did you know that home births are not allowed in Russia? No licenses are issued for this type of activity, and nobody checks the professionalism of midwives. Are you ready to entrust the most valuable thing you have - the life of the future baby - into the hands of a “spiritual midwife”?
Undoubtedly, not everything is perfect in Russian maternity hospitals. However, there are professionals who daily help babies to be born. In the case of force majeure, in the maternity hospital you can quickly carry out a blood transfusion, stimulate labor or perform emergency surgery. Perhaps hospital amenities are not comparable to home, but is comfort more valuable than human life?
Desired childbirth at home can be replaced by being in a separate ward, where a woman first lies with contractions, and then gives birth there. The presence of the husband and other relatives is allowed. This is an excellent alternative to home birth, and now such services are already offered in many maternity hospitals. In case of unexpected complications, the future mom is transferred to another department, and the medical team provides the necessary assistance.
Making an important decision about home birth, once again weigh all the positive and negative factors well, I hope this article will help you with this at least a little.
