Vertical birth: how it goes, pros and cons, reviews

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Recently, more and more pregnant women tend to give birth not the way their mothers gave birth, in a horizontal position, but standing or sitting. Why is it becoming a fashion trend and is vertical birth really easier and faster?

Unconventional births

Having a baby in a special chair, in a standing or sitting position, has long been possible in Switzerland. In this country, there is even a monument to a woman giving birth while standing. Our obstetricians are gradually adopting this experience and trying to keep up with Europe in obstetric care.

The fact is that people gave birth in an upright position 2 centuries ago, when there was no Rakhmanov's bed. And now the forgotten old is gradually returning to medical practice.

History of obstetrics. Looking back

It should be remembered how women gave birth several centuries ago. Laying down on a bed only became popular 250-300 years ago.

And in even more ancient times, women were completely dependent on mercynature. In France, it was considered convenient and safe to give birth on all fours, in China - sitting on a chair. And in many European countries they also gave birth while sitting. In Holland, there was even a custom, following which mothers handed over a chair for vertical childbirth along with their daughter's dowry for the wedding. They were ordinary wooden chairs, without any upholstery even.

Women had a very hard time, and the danger to life was incredible. After all, no one at that time watched how the child was located in the uterus and how much the woman’s heart was ready for such physical exertion. Now medicine is well prepared for any situation during childbirth and doctors know when a woman can give birth herself, and when her body is simply not ready for it.

How is a vertical birth going?

Obstetrics is fundamentally different in the event that a woman is preparing to give birth while standing or squatting. The task of doctors and assistants is reduced only to support the woman in labor and observation. Only when there are any unexpected complications in childbirth should they promptly transfer the woman to a regular bed and perform a caesarean section.

To have a baby while sitting, you need to look for a maternity hospital in advance, which has specially equipped rooms and trained medical staff who know what to do and how to help.

You cannot give birth without a doctor's supervision, you must definitely go to the maternity hospital. Vertical births are just as dangerous as horizontal births, if not more.

A woman can choose any position. It is convenient for some to squat on a special stand or rely on a fitball. If convenient, thensit in a special chair. The position on the cards is considered the most convenient for the rapid advancement of the child through the birth canal. But when the birth is already so rapid, then such a position is contraindicated.

To reduce labor activity, it is enough to change the position. If a woman gets on all fours on the floor and spreads her legs wide apart, rapid labor will slow down and, moreover, the pain will decrease somewhat for a short period.

A pregnant woman can also climb onto a regular bed if she is very ill. The active position of a woman is still better than being paralyzed by fear when she herself cannot do anything. Although each family chooses its own way of giving birth.

For and against such births

Those obstetricians who have already reequipped their wards and have the opportunity to conduct unconventional obstetrics, argue that there are a lot of advantages in this position of the woman in labor.

What are the benefits of vertical birth? It is important to understand the pros and cons of this approach before deciding to do anything.

Pros are:

• Less trauma.
• Pain is less, as the pressure is not on the large intestine, but on the pelvic floor muscles.
• Woman feels freer and can move, walk.
• Gravity in this position helps the baby enter the birth canal more easily.
• The baby's head in this position of a woman more smoothly and physiologically naturally adapts to the bends of the birth canal.
• Minimal risk of hypoxia in a child.
• Children,those born this way rarely have birth trauma and adapt more quickly to the world around them.
• During a normal birth, lying on your back, doctors make incisions in 25% of cases, and in a seated birth only in 5%.

Negative aspects are much less, but they are significant:

• A physically unprepared woman cannot cope on her own.
• Epidurals are not available for these women.
• If there is no special chair that is adapted for both positions, that is, horizontal and vertical births, it will be problematic for doctors to provide professional obstetric care for ruptures.

Another important remark about why you shouldn't get too carried away with the idea of such a birth. There are very few wards in maternity hospitals and specialists in the country prepared for this. Finding such staff or investing in training existing employees is very difficult now.

Indications and contraindications

Medical indications, according to which it is still desirable to give birth unconventionally, include cardiovascular diseases in a pregnant woman. Then she can't have a caesarean. And the second is the risk of retinal detachment from excessive pressure.

Who definitely should not decide on a natural vertical birth? There is a list of contraindications, in which a woman risks both her life and the life of a child if she goes to childbirth without control and without medication. Basically, these are several categories of women in labor:

1. Pregnant women whoaccording to physiological parameters, the doctors scheduled a planned caesarean section.
2. Those who have an ultrasound showing that the baby has not turned head down by the appointed time are also not recommended to take risks.
3. Physiologically narrow pelvis in a woman.
4. Poorly expanding uterus.
5. Stitches left after the first birth, which was completed by caesarean.
6. Abnormal location of the placenta.
7. Pathologies of the uterus that were before pregnancy, or uterine cancer.
8. Chronic fetal hypoxia.
9. Big baby or twins.

These are the most basic contraindications. There is one more very important thing. For girls who already have varicose veins at a young age, it is almost impossible to give birth while sitting. Since the load on the legs is greater, the vein disease will worsen.

Natural childbirth. How to prepare?

A woman who plans to give birth herself, without epidural anesthesia, should undergo a course of physical preparation. I must say that it's worth it.

To give birth to a modern woman who is accustomed to home comforts, personal transport and the availability of all kinds of painkillers for all occasions is very difficult. Civilization has made adjustments to both lifestyle and physiology.

Wild pain is not easy to endure. You need to physically prepare yourself so that labor pains do not cause panic. A woman in a panic begins to scream, and this is harmful for both the child and the expectant mother. A woman in labor can get tears from physical overstrain. And since a woman ceases to inhale fully oxygen andexhales it while screaming, the child will definitely get hypoxia.

Preparation is long and stressful. With the help of outdoor training and constant control of breathing, you can gradually strengthen your will and endurance. It is best to perform yoga asanas aimed at endurance and training the pelvic muscles. Be sure to learn how to relax all the muscles. During the period of short rest between contractions, you need to restore strength and mental stability as much as possible.

But it's not 1 or even 2 months of training. This should be done from the beginning of pregnancy. It is best to go to courses where experts will explain everything and make you practice deep breathing.

Psychological training

Psychological preparation is no less important. Of course, vertical births are physiologically natural and freer births. A woman can intuitively choose the position of the body in which she feels less pain.

Women who have already given birth this way all say that pushing is much easier, but it can take longer. After all, no one stimulates such childbirth. The chair for vertical delivery helps to feel very comfortable. But this is not enough, you also need the emotional help of a husband or a midwife.

To risk giving birth without medical help, you need to be as emotionally prepared as possible for severe pain.

You need to read a lot of information about the stages of childbirth, what awaits a pregnant woman and how to set yourself up for a favorable outcome. Psychological adjustment is essential.

At this timedon't be afraid or panic. It is best to think during labor not about pain or risks, but about how lucky you are to get pregnant. After all, not all women have the opportunity to even get pregnant, let alone bear it.

Choosing a maternity hospital

Not many women in labor are aware of the benefits of this method, and not everyone is able to give birth naturally. Nowadays, many suffer from gynecological chronic diseases, in which the doctor will not approve of the desire to produce a child without medicines. When allowed, it is necessary to choose a suitable maternity hospital, where vertical delivery has been practiced for a long time, and doctors have experience. Honey. the institution should suit both the criterion of the attitude of the staff towards the woman in labor and the price category.

Understanding what kind of maternity hospital you need is a mandatory planning point. Vertical delivery is not practiced in all maternity hospitals. Now this is more the exception than the rule. To accept them, the medical institution must have a license.

Behavior during childbirth

In all other respects, except for the position of the pregnant woman during labor, vertical births do not differ from traditional horizontal ones in obstetrics.

A woman can walk around the room during the rest period between contractions. And the attempts themselves can be experienced by holding on to special handrails or ropes. All hospitals are equipped differently. If the husband agrees to be present when the child is born, he can greatly help by supporting the woman when she finds it difficult to stand on her feet.

It is important to listen to whatsays the midwife. When the head is already showing, the midwife usually asks to lie down anyway, so that it is convenient to pick up the baby in her arms. Although some use a container of water to make the child fall into the water, it may not be safe.

Reviews of women in labor

What will those who have become a mother thanks to the help of experts studying vertical birth say? Photos of women in labor who have experienced such childbirth, and their own feedback, tell us that they really feel better.

And women in labor recover much faster. For women leading an active business lifestyle, it is important to stay on your feet. The most important advantage of vertical birth, mothers' reviews already confirm this, is the child's quick adaptation to our world. When both mother and child have not received any injuries, there is no hypoxia in the newborn, the two of them can go home the next day.

Conclusions

So, not all women are shown to give birth while sitting. Physically and psychologically, you need to tune in in advance for such an experiment, if the doctors have allowed you. Next, choose a maternity hospital that can provide the opportunity to give birth in an upright position without risking the life of the child, which is not so easy now. But if everything works out, you will have the happiest and safest birth possible.