Australian and UK Midwives Visit New Hangzhou Women's Hospital

Australian and UK Midwives Visit New Women's Hospital of Hangzhou with their experience:

You can sit, lie on the front or soak in water

Hangzhou Women's Hospital officially opened yesterday. When coming to the hospital, journalists of Qianjiang Evening News met many foreigners. The journalist found they were 27 midwives from Australia and UK upon inquiry. When they communicated with midwives, the journalist thought it refreshing: firstly, it's not good to deliver babies by the position of lying; secondly, giving birth to babies can be less painful. If the pregnant moms are in good mood, they will labor faster and more smoothly.

Is it for real? The journalist specially inquired Professor Nicky Leap of Midwifery from University of Technology, Sydney and ZHOU Hong, Deputy Director of Nursing Department and Chief Nurse of Hangzhou Women's Hospital.

If you want to get more details about delivering babies, consult on ZHOU Hong via Qiantang Wechat at 12:30-13:30 next Monday.

When you feel annoyed by failing to appoint three-dimensional B-ultra sound examination, please follow "Zhejiang Famous Doctors" and send the keywords " three-dimensional B-ultra sound " and you may get a chance for free examination.

Lying is the Worst Body Position to Deliver a Baby

Professor Nicky Leap of Midwifery boasted with 43 years as a midwife. She told journalists of Qianjiang News: "Lying to deliver a baby is the most commonly seen position and also the worst." In delivery rooms of the hospital Nicky used to work, they usually moved beds from the most obvious location to the side, "I even hope that we could move beds outside delivery rooms."

Nicky continued, blood vessels and nerves of human body were besides the spine, when the pregnant moms lie flat, the enlarged uterus oppresses blood veins and nerves which may cause greater possibility of anoxia of babies in the uterus. The oppression of the pregnant woman's nerves will lead to the extreme sour and pain.

If a pregnant woman gives birth to babies by sitting or standing, the force of gravity promotes the labor by expansion of cervix open. In fact, labor of multiple body position will allow babies to have larger space. So judging from that, babies also don't like moms to stay on beds.

Nicky says, in the delivery room of foreign countries, there is furniture such as chairs, desks and sofas which are the same as that at home, and maybe a pond. But you definitely cannot see the bed at the first sight. "As if beds are placed in an obvious position, pregnant moms will soon want to rely on beds." 

So how to decide which position should pregnant women give birth to babies?

"Feel the call of your body." Nicky says, of course, it may break away the knowledge of labor of pregnant women. So what midwives should do is to make them relax and feel the thoughts of body. and allow them to choose the comfortable position. Then midwives will help with the labor.

"During the process, midwives' encouragements 'You did a good job!' 'You can totally nail it. Many women else have nailed it!' are necessities. " In Nicky's description, the encouragement is "incessant".

Nicky thinks the most ideal body position is water birth.

"The pregnant women will no longer deliver babies by the position of lying, but by sitting, lying on the front, soaking in water. Of all, water birth is the best which can reduce the possibility of dystocia. The pregnant women feel very relaxed and will deliver very fast." ZHOU Hong introduced that Hangzhou Women's Hospital is the first public hospital to perform water birth in Zhejiang Province and the hospital will launch water birth project soon.

Good Mood Makes Labor Less Painful

Nicky specially wrote down the following passage to Qianjiang News readers and fans of "Zhejiang Famous Doctors."

Labor is not only "producing human beings" but a process to build a strong and confident mom. Women will have more autonomy over their life after a beautiful labor process. This is the best starting point for new moms.

As a specialty hospital of Hangzhou First Hospital Group (HFHG), Hangzhou Women's Hospital has the same management and team with that in Hangzhou First Hospital Group. In Archives Room of warm delivery room of HFHG, there is a photo: a pregnant woman is giving birth to a baby by lying on her front and her big smile is caught by the camera when she raises her head.

ZHOU Hong said: such labor mode would be the emphasis of future marketing in Hangzhou Women's Hospital and the hospital would build up "Family Delivery Room." But most pregnant women are in extreme pain, so how can they still be in good mood?

It turns out that it shall get prepared during pregnancy. ZHOU Hong said, midwives in "Family Delivery Room" of Hangzhou Women's Hospital  will provide continuous, individualized and tracing services for each pregnant woman from the 24th week of pregnancy to 42 days after her labor, including professional guidance, scientific education and psychological tutoring for pregnant women and her family especially her husband and parents.

ZHANG Jing, the first midwife with a doctorate degree in China and professor of Hangzhou Normal University, explained that the pregnant women are in a relaxed state, their body will naturally stimulate oxytocin (also known hormone of love) secretion. On the contrary, the love hormone will stop its secretion when pregnant women feel nervous. So their uterus contraction capability will be greatly lowered and pain will be more severe.