Women should be aware of the benefits of midwifery care compared to medical treatment when it comes to healthy pregnant women and a normal course of pregnancy and childbirth. A medically managed model of healthy and pathological pregnancy is still valid in Slovenia, so midwifes have a more difficult task to establish a trusting relationship when a woman enters the delivery room. Our work is guided by sets of guidelines and protocols that have to be taken care of to match the time and place of the events.

Communication plays a very important role in the process of giving birth. In Slovenia, a midwife is prevented to meet the birthing mother before childbirth due to the current health care system. Therefore, the first contact is crucial to establish a trusting relationship so the midwife can guide the woman through the birthing process properly. During labor, women with low risk should have a free choice of eating and drinking, and therefore health workers are not entitled to limit that. After birth, it is necessary to consider also at the comfort of the child, so it is essential to enable the first hour after birth and thus skin to skin contact between the newborn and the mother. For the newborn it is important for metabolic habituation, bacteriological point of view, thermoregulation, stabilizing the heart rate, breathing, breastfeeding and ultimately family bonds. Cord clamping should be done at least 90 seconds after birth, vernix should not be removed in the delivery room and the first washing should be done at least 24 hours after birth.

The exposed areas (communication, listen to women, birth positions, eating and drinking during labor, the first hour after birth, the first newborn care) are important factors to influence the birth experience also in pathological pregnancies and in medically controlled childbirths. The only problem is that with time we can fall into the routine, we work in an unmotivated environment, with not enough staff who would allow safe and quality treatment. We are faced with a number of complications and can sometimes forget the basic areas affecting birth practices and women’s experience.

Foto: mesecmaj.si