Natural birthing is a safe option for new mums, say health experts

CHENNAI: As first-time moms are taking up classes on pregnancy and coming up with birthing plans themselves, the need for midwives equipped with necessary skills to cater to emergency situations is rising. Hospitals however, only follow a devised medical approach to pregnancy. At a session organised by BloomLife, experts spoke about how important it is to have both midwives and obstetrician-gynaecologist at the time of birthing. BloomLife is a healthcare centre for women which specialises in curating a collaborative and safe natural birthing process for women.

Dr Namrita, consultant obstetrician and gentle birth practitioner says that hospitals with devised medical methods do not try exploring alternative approaches to pregnancy which will make the process easier for the mother by ensuring a pain-free experience. She says 80 per cent of India’s population are low-risk mothers, meaning they are free of diseases and complications that arise during pregnancy.

Namrita says that low-risk mothers can very well opt for natural birthing, but when they go to a hospital that has devised methods, they are not given the choice to give birth naturally. “Many women do not know that natural birthing is an option because hospitals do not have midwives. The moment they enter the hospital in labour they have injected an epidural to ease the pain.”

A new approach might be necessary to address such concerns from the ground up.

Dr Namrita says that at BloomLife, a collaborative link has been formed between midwives and OBGYNs and caters to the needs of the mother and the child and offers a specially curated birthing plan that will suit both the mother and child. “Healthcare is fragmented. We have allied services, mainstream medicine needs to come together with other alternative medicine for a holistic approach,” she says.

The centre’s philosophy involves approaching labour pain in a different way - - rather than injecting an epidural to the spine causing more discomfort to a mother who is already in pain, the specialists have adopted Hypnobirthing and Hydrotherapy. “Hypnobirthing is basically regulating the mother’s breathing and visualising positive thoughts to distract from the pain.

“In hydrotherapy, the mother is given a shower with hot water with ayurvedic hot oils. We use hydrotherapy even during our menstruation and it works like magic. We apply the same concept here,” she says.

Talking about how this collaborative care will help mothers, she says, “It not only makes the process of birthing risk-free and comfortable but also ensures that both the mother and the child get the holistic care they deserve through midwives and OBGYNs. Another thing that we are hoping will better through this is the uneven distribution of birthing and medical workers in rural and urban areas.

“Through this module, we hope everyone is able to access the healthcare that is suitable for them,” Namrita says.