Women and children can die in childbirth

Home midwives have noted an increased interest in their services during the corona pandemic, SVT Nyheter reports.

But it is not known exactly how many want and can give birth at home.

– There has been a lot of concern during the spring, and rightly so. Women, who feel that a birth is a healthy event, should go to the hospital where there are infected people and meet the staff who may be infected, Eva Nordlund, president of the Swedish Midwifery Association, tells SVT.

Women and children are at risk of dying

The fact that more and more women choose to give birth at home bothers Ulla Waldenström, a professor at the Karolinska Institutet and a midwife.

She believes that women and children are at risk of dying if the trend continues.

– On some social media pages, women are encouraged to give birth without the help of a midwife and presented as a worse alternative than being with a support person without medical competence, Nyheter tells SVT.

Research on home birth has shown that it does not carry an increased risk of giving birth at home if the woman is healthy, reborn and had a previously normal pregnancy, according to Ulla Waldenström.

“Completely insane”

However, new mothers are at higher risk of complications during a home birth than during a hospital birth.

– Childbirth without professional help is glorified. It’s crazy, Ulla Waldenström tells SVT News.

In the case of home birth, the care is paid for out of pocket. For those who cannot afford proper medical skills, a home birth without medical skills may be the only alternative.