Births during coronavirus
New rules vary from one hospital to another and concern maternity staff
MIDWIFERY and nursing organisations were celebrating last week after the regional health service overturned new rules that forced women to give birth alone due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The ruling, which came into effect on April 4, had said that partners could no longer be present at births in the Valencia region.
It caused such an outcry among organisations representing nurses and midwives that it was revoked by the health department just four days later.
The ruling is great news for most expectant mothers, although the changes do not cover caesareans, for which women still face going into surgery alone, even if the hospital would normally allow a partner.
Moreover, in the delivery room the birth partner must at all times keep a distance of 1.5 metres away from all medical staff.
María Gonzalez, a midwife in the Marina Baja area, where they fought strongly against the new ruling, said: “Our mothers are extremely relieved, and we are very grateful, happy and comforted by the news. We are a group who always fight for our professional interests and for the rights of women. We will always be on their side.”
She added: “Think about it, 99% of midwives are women!”
To help expectant mothers in these difficult times, when nonessential face-to-face consultancies and prenatal classes have been cancelled, María and her colleagues have started an initiative to continue preparing women for birth without the need for group classes.
She said: “We have made a series of 18 videos which are available online. They are about birth preparation, postpartum care, breastfeeding and looking after your newborn baby. We’ve also created an email where mums can write to us with their worries and questions about any aspect of the birthing process and looking after a newborn.”
The email address is matronasmarinabaixa@gmail.com
Meanwhile, a specialist home birth midwife, Marta Sánchez says she has received many more calls than usual over the past few weeks from women who were concerned about going into hospital to give birth.
While Marta’s clients turn to her looking for a more natural, humanist birth, she said they now have an extra reason to feel calm while going into labour as they can keep away from hospitals at this uncertain time.
She said: “My women are usually very relaxed because we work on the emotional aspects but now they are even more so.”
Marta, 43, who was a nurse at the UK’s Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospital for five years, now runs a birthing centre in Orba, where she has clients from many European countries as she is able to speak fluently to them in English.
Like all home birth midwives in Spain, Marta is a member of the Nacer en Casa association and says she follows WHO regulations with all her procedures.
Home births in Spain are far less common than in the UK and, according to Marta, are somewhat looked down upon by both the medical profession and society, although she believes their popularity is growing and points to the appearance of other home birth teams in the area, including one based at San Juan hospital.
catherine@catherinedolan.net