Editor: As a follow-up to Rayna Tupper’s letter Re: Tubs needed for delivery rooms, I would point out that the hospital’s administration is predictably following the industrial birthing model that is gaining momentum across North America.
In April 2014, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) stated that immersion in water during the second stage of labour (i.e. underwater delivery) has not been associated with any maternal or fetal benefit.
In fact, they stated that there have been case reports of rare but serious adverse effects in the newborn, and, therefore, the practice of underwater delivery should be considered an experimental procedure done within the context of an appropriately designed clinical trial.
Despite the considered and reasoned protests from midwifery organizations whose members have conducted countless successful underwater deliveries for decades, hospitals all over the U.S. began suspending or shutting down their water birth programs. This despite the fact there are scientific studies that contradict the conclusions of the ACOG and AAP on this matter.
For example, a large study published by the British Medical Journal cites a 95 per cent confidence in the safety of water births. However, they also state that because the majority of water births take place at home, where there is no immediate medical help, there is an increase in the risk vis a vis hospital births.
Canmore Hospital has adopted a view that focuses only on minimizing risk and maximizing convenience for the benefit of the doctors and the medical system. The wishes and desires of informed and knowledgeable mothers are being subordinated as a result.
It seems not much has changed in the 20 years since I had my daughter; with no tubs in the hospitals I chose a homebirth with a midwife instead. Many wondered why I would take such a seeming risk, but with a medical system that prioritizes doctors rather than expectant mothers, I had no other choice.
I see childbirth as a natural and organic process, one that would allow me to have control over how I wanted to deliver, allow me to be as comfortable as possible during an exhausting, exhilarating and painful experience, and give me the freedom of choice rather than being dictated to by the medical staff regarding what protocols were necessary and which interventions were advisable.
This latest pronouncement by Canmore Hospital shows the direction that birthing protocols are headed in our community, leaving few options other than homebirth for those that aspire to a more natural process.
But maybe there is a middle ground here. Perhaps it’s time for our town to build a birth centre? With Canmore being recognized as a health and wellness destination, a birth centre could fit nicely with this image.
While Canmore Hospital will have two state-of-the-art birthing rooms set up for the complicated/high risk births, a birth centre could offer services to others seeking a different birth experience.
Bonnie Hamilton,
Canmore
