Sensitive Midwifery - Issue 44 - October 2019

Mom & Baby Professor Suzanne Delport – retired neonatologist and strong breastfeeding supporter – outlines procedures peripartum health practitioners can follow to mitigate risks to newborns of scheduled deliveries in the private sector. Measures to minimise risks to infants of scheduled C-section S cheduled deliveries occur commonly in the South African private sector, with the majority of women with low-risk pregnancies receiving a non-indicated caesarean section before spontaneous initiation of labour. The aim is to perform a ‘non-injurious’ delivery which will ensure a ‘healthy’ newborn infant. This is an erroneous belief since unanticipated, life- threatening complications may a ffl ict the newborn precisely due to the absence of labour. Consequently, meticulous surveillance from birth until discharge is of the essence because a ‘healthy’ appearance belies the fact that these infants are unprepared for an extrauterine existence. Admission to special care units to facilitate surveillance of these infants is the norm, resulting in overcrowding of these units as well as intensive care units. The inflated induction and caesarean section birth rate contributes to the unavailability of beds for other ill newborn infants, and to the Continued on page 47 46 eSensitive Midwifery Magazine Issue 44