More Babies Prefer Home Birth

Many rural Swazi women are still not satisfied with the treatment they receive in hospitals while giving birth, which explains why a lot of them still prefer giving birth at home, a new research conducted in the northern Hhohho region suggests. The study was presented at the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) triennial congress held in Durban recently and it drew the attention of participants who were eager to know why Swazi women living in rural areas still prefer giving birth at home. The research was conducted by University of Swaziland (UNISWA) faculty of health sciences lecturer S’phiwe Thwala. The research paper has been published in leading journals of international acclaim. Key findings show that rural Swazi women are still fond of traditional antidotes, and that when pregnant, the practice of using traditional herbs alongside western style medicine is common amongst pregnant women. “Rural Swazi women utilise biomedical maternity services whilst still strongly adhering to traditional practices and beliefs during labour,” it was established.

LIKE ANY 8-DAY-OLD BABY, Jimmy Gaffney spends most of his time either nursing or sleeping. Peacefully alternating between the two while cradled in his mother’s arms in the family’s sun-dappled Hamilton backyard, the robust newborn looks like a promotional photograph for parenthood. And yet, so far as the state and city of his birth are concerned, this baby does not officially exist.

He was born at home, in May, with only his mother and father, Alana and Matt Gaffney, in attendance (his two excited siblings, who had slept through most of the five-hour labor that culminated in his 4 a.m. birth, came in just as their father was placing the freshly born baby on his mother’s chest). The family is in no rush to notify the authorities about Jimmy’s birth; they have been taking it easy for the past week, sticking close to home and bonding with the new addition while Alana recovers. A call to register his birth with the Baltimore City Health Department will summon a visit from a home nurse, and the Gaffneys are not quite ready for outsiders, particularly bureaucrats asking a lot of questions about a process they regard as utterly natural—and completely private.

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MOTHERS-to-be are to be encouraged to stay away from hospital in an effort to more than double the number of home births in the Lothians.
Pregnant women living furthest from the ERI and St John’s in Livingston will be urged to consider giving birth in their own homes.

It is thought that avoiding long trips to and from the maternity units – including the sometimes hectic dash to “get there on time” – will make the experience of giving birth more relaxed for many women.

The health board also hopes to ease the pressure on the hospitals caused by the growing number of births.

There has been a gradual increase in the popularity of home births in recent years, with 150 taking place last year – two per cent of births – compared to 112 in 1995.

Health chiefs hope to see that number rise to closer to 400 in the coming years, or five per cent of all births.

What a refreshing outlook on birth.  Did you catch that they are actually asking those living further from the hospital to consider this option?