How midwives are assisting moms during the COVID-19 times

How midwives are assisting moms during the COVID-19 times

In the past few days, we have come across reports of a shortage in midwives in the UK, Europe and the USA, making it difficult for women who are choosing homebirth. More and more people in the West are now relying on midwives to assist them with childbirth to avoid hospitals because of the COVID-19 scare.

WHO points out that midwives play an instrumental role to introduce women to the health system and ensure that women and their babies receive a continuum of skilled care during pregnancy, childbirth, and in the important days and weeks after birth. Yet millions of women give birth without the support of trained midwives. To honour them, WHO had announced the year 2020 as the year of not only nurses but also midwives.

‘DAIMAA’ AND THE MIDWIFE
In India, you all know the role of the daimaa during childbirth and childcare. You may have heard countless stories of these experienced and skilled women who have been assisting pregnant women for centuries. 

But there is a difference between the daimaa and the midwife. Daimaas learn from experience and under the guidance of a senior daimaa. In contrast, midwifery is a recognised degree and branch of medical science and people opting for it go through training, an apprenticeship that gives them the authority to take certain medical decisions in the absence of medical help.

Meghana Naidu, the co-founder of The Birth Home, Midwifery Care and Natural Birth Centre in Bengaluru, says that they attempt to create a system where midwives and doctors offer primary care, and hospitals come into the picture only if complications arise.

A midwife is a healthcare provider, while a daimaa is more of a childbirth coach. 

“Midwives can deliver babies in hospitals, birthing centres or even in your home whereas a daimaa or doula doesn’t replace your healthcare practitioner but rather can add extra services, such as helping you with techniques to manage pain during labour and even providing support and help during the baby’s early days,” Naidu says.

Naidu, a mother herself, knows the anxiety and concerns that expectant moms go through. She points out that a report by WHO also suggests that only 10-15 per cent of births need a Caesarean or C-section; the rest can opt for a natural birth.

BETTER SUPPORT
Naidu explains that midwives come with a lot of experience up their sleeves since they have assisted in many natural deliveries.

“The delivery room is a vulnerable place to be in for a woman giving birth, especially with people who they don’t know, whereas midwives are with you during the entire pre and postnatal process. They help and assist you with everything during your pregnancy. Having someone who has been with you through your entire journey helps you keep calm,” she says.

Any family can approach a midwifery or birthing centre. However, people should keep in mind that when they opt for a midwife, it becomes a family effort, where the midwife also includes other members of the family to be a part of the consultation and prepares the entire family for the baby, unlike a hospital scenario which is entirely different.

Midwives understand the medical history of the mom to be and, more importantly, check your baby’s health, growth and position. They also support you through labour and birth, give you information, encouragement and emotional support, monitor your progress and suggest strategies to help your labour, monitor the baby’s heartbeat and other signs.

Midwives will care for both you and your baby immediately after the birth, help you with breastfeeding and settling your baby, and also carry out some routine health tests, such as newborn screening.

NOT HURRYING THROUGH CHILDBIRTH
An expectant mom must push during labour, and it’s a painful process. “A midwife makes the process easy. They know the rhythm of contractions; it is one of the most synchronised processes. You don’t have to keep telling the woman to push. That said, midwives do check the vitals of the mother and the emotional state since they are an important part of the childbirth process,” she says.

The founder points out that unlike hospital rooms, there is a lot of free movement that happens during a natural assisted birth. “The woman is free to move around; we try different positions and, most importantly, it is not a hurried process. The woman takes her time,” she says.

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