Sensitive Midwifery - Issue 43 - July2019

Posterior Last word: The revival of the birth chair Birthing aids have been used throughout midwifery history to support the mother, and one famous one was the birthing chair or stool, explains Margreet Wibbelink. A study of the history of birth shows that women gave birth in many different ways over the eons, and that upright birthing positions such as standing, squatting and kneeling were by far the norm for most of those years, rather than a fringe behaviour. A birthing stool helps women to maintain a squatting position more easily, and so facilitates upright birthing while still offering the birth benefits from the force of gravity. Studies have shown that use of the birthing chair allows for a satisfactory birthing method and does not increase any risk for the mother or the baby, unlike recumbent birthing positions. Furthermore, it has also been found that there is less cord compression, as well as significantly lower rates of episiotomy in all upright positions. Pull up a chair – are you birth-stool-ready? Most South African midwives and birth workers will never have seen a birthing stool, let alone helped a mother to birth using one. But Sensitive Midwifery believes that there is new awareness among women and birth workers about the value of birthing upright and naturally, and that they would be keen to use a birth stool! One mother wrote to us about her experience of birthing her baby on a stool: ‘When my body started bearing down by itself it was an incredibly intense feeling, and was something I couldn’t control. I was very tired by then and lay on my side to rest, but I was very uncomfortable in that position and I remember thinking that I couldn’t do this anymore … I had read in another woman’s story that she knew that when she felt she couldn’t go on, that meant that her child was close to being with her. This gave me strength and I moved onto the birthing stool. I didn’t want to be on my back or side, but lacked the strength to stay in a squatting position. The stool held me up and took the pressure off my legs. I could also push down on the stool to help me hold my contractions for longer. I loved that from the stool I could reach down to receive my baby and bring her to my chest myself.’ Sensitive Midwifery has commissioned the design of a beautiful birth stool that can be used in any setting, whether state or private, hospital or home. Excitingly, it can be used on a bed as well – no more excuses about visualisation or backache, colleagues! Order it online at www.sensitivemidwifery.co.za or send an email to info@sensitivemidwifery.co.za. Scholz, HS, et al, ‘Spontaneous Vaginal Delivery in the Birth-Chair versus in the Conventional Dorsal Position: A Matched Controlled Comparison’, PubMed , 2001. Available: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11603105 Order Sensitive Midwifery’s birth stool online 35 eSensitive Midwifery Magazine Issue 43