Obstetrics are crucial for improving the survival of pregnant women and their babies. Midwives, for their part, would make it possible to avoid under-medicalization and over-medicalization.
Midwives, a “hub” between the hospital and the communities. The latest edition of the prestigious Lancet pays tribute to this sometimes discredited profession. A series of articles emphasizes the importance of obstetrics to improve the management of pregnancy, in developing countries as well as in developed countries.
Halve maternal deaths
Each year, approximately 300,000 women die during pregnancy, childbirth or as a result of labor. About 2.6 million give birth to a stillborn baby, and about as many infants die before one month. Added to this sad observation are the millions of women who suffer from physical or mental health problems for lack of adequate care. Obstetrics, the midwives on the front line, could drastically reduce this number. For example, the number of maternal deaths could be halved by 2030.
Obstetrics, in this special edition of Lancet, is defined as “specialized, skilled and compassionate care for mothers, newborns and families throughout the journey of pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum and the first years. weeks of life. Concretely, this translates into an optimization of the natural processes of reproduction, while respecting the circumstances and the opinions of future parents. But it also means timely prevention and management of complications, as well as education for pregnant women to improve the health of mothers and families.
Reduce the number of cesarean sections
In most cases, maternal or infant death is linked to a lack of access to obstetric care. Over-medicalization is an equally serious threat: still too many cesarean sections, so much so that an article mentions an “epidemic” or episiotomies are practiced unnecessarily.
Relying more on midwives could turn the tide. “Most of the needs of pregnant women, their babies and families around the world are still not being met, while it has long been recognized that women and their babies need access to care that offers more. than a simple emergency intervention for acute medical problems ”, laments Prof. Mary Renfrew, of the School of Nurses and Midwives at the University of Dundee (Scotland). “Even though obstetrics is already recognized as a vital and cost-effective contribution to the care of mothers and newborns in many countries, its social, economic and health benefits are still far from being realized globally. “
The same impact as vaccination
Wider use of midwives would have the same economic impact as vaccination, in terms of lives saved. But the population and doctors still need to recognize their key role: “It is important to understand that, to be more effective, a midwife must have access to a functional health service, that her work is respected and associated. to that of other health professionals ”, underlines Pr Petra ten Hoope-Bender, from the Institute for Social Cooperation and Integration in Barcelona (Spain). For this, it will be necessary to raise the status of women in certain societies, but above all to appease rivalries between medical professions.
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