UNNATURAL CHILDBIRTH
SIR,—As a practising midwife of twelve Years experience I should like to sympathise with Monica, Furlong's comments on her experiences in hospital at the time of the birth of her baby. She may hal been unlucky in her choice of a hospital, but regret that what she said did not really surprise me. Many midwives are as frustrated and irritated IV life in such an institution as are the mothers. Mrs. Furlong was not, I think, being 'clever: as stated by Cecilia Chance. She was courageous enough and articulate enough to write what ma" 'Mothers have felt about a hospital confinement. She Is aware that what should have been a thrilling exPerience ended in a sense of anticlimax; she is 1,11cleod right in saying that hygiene is less important t? a mother than loneliness. Her midwife friend who neSCribed post-natal mothers as 'just like cows' ?tight never to practise midwifery for she does not uegin to understand what it is; the casual attitude teevalent in so many hospitals is unforgivable. Child- ILL a natural function? Of course it is, but it is a great deal more than the mere mechanics of female PhYsiology. Childbirth is a time of great emotional upheaval an. d readjustment, and every mother needs indi- :‘!dttal reassurance and sympathy and loving care. f" should be a joyous occasion for both mother and ,ather, and those who care for the mother should no all in their power to make it so. The mood of !it: tint) and pride that Mrs. Furlong refers to so "stfullY is bound to lose its first intensity, but :eaction should not be so devastating-nor so sordid in its origin as was hers. Obviously a hospital must to a fairly strict routine if the work is to be rree, but the lying-in period should not be remem- 2d as a time of boredom and frustration punctu- red by bed-pans and breast-pumps; it should be a "tile of relaxation and peace during which the ILItother gets to know her baby-and to know about turn-and at the end of it she should return home Ivell and happy both physically and emotionally; .n.enfident and proud, and eager to take on the new resPonsibility which her baby brings. The mother needs continuous help and care Intnlighoitt her pregnitncy, labour, and lying-in rieriod; she has a great many questions to ask about erself and her baby, and she has many fears and anxieties to unravel; she needs intelligible and sen- Inhie answers: Good obstetrics will cope with quads and Caesarians and any other complications, but gniad midwifery embraces so much more. It is an e.sacting and a skilled vocation, not just a job. It Involves good human relationships founded on trust and confidence, and the realisation that a 'case' is 1,nrnething in a textbook, not a woman in a clinic or 4,▪ ward. Mothers are individual human beings and
"Y need individual care and help, and they need
from the early days of pregnancy if they are to cxPerience to the full the joy and pride which come svith the birth of their baby.-Yours faithfully,
DISTRICT MIDWIFE
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