In many places in the world there is no alternative, but today in most developed societies women can choose, in principle, where to give birth. At home, in a hospital, in homes of births ... Where should the pregnant woman give birth?
According to the World Health Organization, the ideal place would be the one that the woman chooses because it gives her security and there is the minimum assistance necessary for the delivery to be handled correctly.
These conditions, whenever we talk about low-risk pregnancies, are not the same for every woman, because some may feel safer giving birth at home and others in a hospital. But there are some points in common:
For a low-risk woman this can be at home, in a small maternity or perhaps in a maternity hospital of a large hospital. However, it should be a place where all the attention and care are focused on your needs and your safety, as close as possible to your home and your culture. If the delivery is going to be domiciliary, there must be plans in advance to refer the woman to a hospital if this is necessary, and the woman must have knowledge of it.
Reading the "Practical guide for normal delivery care", developed by the WHO, we realize that unfortunately the woman does not always stop where she wishes, or in the most appropriate place, subject on which we will return.
But focusing on this section that talks about the most suitable place to give birth, we highlight and comment on the following points:
- That the woman feels safe. As we say, the perception of this variable is very different for each woman. The security that some provide the home to others may seem insufficient and they only feel safe in a hospital setting.
- That the minimum possible intervention so that the delivery goes well. This would be a point to claim in all births, and that is where we fight when we talk about most humanized hospital deliveries and natural The woman should not be subjected to unjustified protocols or routines and also, counterproductive for the good development of labor on many occasions.
- That care focus on the needs and safety of women. That is, respected births. Births that do not focus on the comfort of the staff that serves you but on women. That this is heard, valued and respected. And that they focus on the safety of the baby, I would add.
- Let the birth be close to your home and your culture. I think it is important that all women who want to give birth in a hospital have one nearby. This is obviously not possible in many rural areas, nor in many developing countries. In these places, the priority would be for qualified health personnel to attend the delivery, which is not always simple either. In any case, the health personnel who attend the births should not take women away from their culture, and there are certain traditions that, as long as they do not affect the good development of the birth and the well-being of mother and baby, must be respected.
- For those women who decide to give birth at home, WHO reminds us that in order for a home delivery to be properly treated, only minimal preparations are needed, which we will also return to, and that would be essential. At this point we remember the criteria to attend a home birth prepared by the Official College of Nursing of Barcelona.
So these are the considerations about the place where women should give birth, exposed by the World Health Organization and which are interesting to reflect on the different types of birth in our environment but also in the rest of the world.
