More Babies Prefer Home Birth

Midwives used to go on house calls to help women give birth at their homes. Now, they are establishing centers where women in labor can avail themselves of home-like comfort and a clean environment equipped with modern medical facilities. Fourteen such birthing homes exist in Dagupan City and other towns in Pangasinan, says Villa Payag, 51, one of the midwives who pioneered the project. A mother herself, Payag says giving birth is a “natural process” and midwives are trained to help women who want to give birth naturally. “Hospitals are for sick people and pregnancy and birthing are not diseases. Unless there are complications when mothers need medical attention, midwives can efficiently handle birthing. Because we are trained, we know if the mother needs to be taken to a hospital,” she says. Payag’s birthing home in Bonuan District even renders “personalized services” that no hospital offers. She serves “malunggay” (Moringa) soup and rice broth to those who have just given birth. “I have plenty of malunggay trees in my yard. I just boil some leaves with some ginger and seasoning and give them to the mothers. When you just gave birth, a hot soup is very welcome,” she says. One time, a woman who had just given birth could not sit down by herself because she was so heavy. “I just propped her with pillows and spoon-fed her. She was so happy she cried,” Payag says.

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.