Two Ghanaian midwives have suggested that health facilities in the country should adopt the squatting methods for child delivery to help reduce birth complications and maternal death.
The two, Principal Nursing Public Health Officer at Adenta, Victoria Obenewaa and Midwife at Craddle Care Maternity Home, Maame Serwaa Major were both speaking with Afia Amankwaah Tamakloe on the Nyinsen ne Awuor reality show on Adom FM.
The topic for discussion was “complications during birth”.
Both midwives revealed that research has shown that among all birthing methods, including laying supine, water birth, squatting and others, the latter has proven to be the safest.
Victoria Obenewaa said; “the normal childbirth method in Ghana, which is the laying supine process, causes too much pain for women because during labor there is restriction of movement and babies often approach the cervix with different parts of their body other than the head.
“When that happens, it extends the period of labour and the pain of the mother – but with squatting, the force of gravity makes it easier for the child to be delivered with head first.”
Meanwhile, Maame Serwaa Major also called on her colleague midwives to upgrade themselves with the new styles and methods of delivery to save babies and mothers.
“There are so many ways midwives can adopt to ease pain during delivery and that include the squatting method, which is the safest among all but some Ghanaian midwives are stuck with using the lying in bed method because they feel uncomfortable with the new methods available.
She said some of those methods endanger the lives of unborn children and their mothers.
Both midwives also made a passionate appeal to expectant mothers to attend antenatal care regularly so that doctors can quickly detect and prevent any unexpected complications during birth.
Midwives call for squatting methods for child delivery
-