Warning about the risks of giving birth "naturally"

On the afternoon of March 14, social networks quickly shared information about a woman giving birth at home using the method ofnatural childbirthcausing mother and child death.

The person who shared the story is a woman with a Facebook account named Minh Phuong living in Ho Chi Minh City. She said that her friend who gave birth to her first child spent 15 million to take a natural childbirth course as shared on social networks and gave birth at home alone. When her husband returned, both mother and child were beyond saving.

Immediately after the information was reported on social networks, on the evening of March 14, the Department of Maternal and Child Health (Ministry of Health) sent an official dispatch to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health and Tu Du Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City requesting to verify and check the information and coordinate with relevant agencies to handle any violations, if any, according to current regulations. The Ministry of Health also requested the two units to send a report to the Ministry of Health before 3:00 p.m. on March 15, 2018.

Talking about the above case, talking to reporters, Dr. Vu Ba Quyet - Director of the Central Obstetrics Hospital said that if this information is true, it is very unfortunate for both mother and baby. "In the past, when conditions were still difficult, women often gave birth at home, the rate of maternal and child mortality was very high, so there was the saying "pregnancy is like the door to the grave".

Over the years, the obstetrics sector has strived to reduce maternal and child mortality by monitoring and caring for the process from pregnancy, regular prenatal check-ups, and then giving newborn tetanus vaccination after birth. Previously, the mortality rate due to infection was high, but now it has decreased a lot,” said Dr. Quyet.

“Moreover, giving birth at home is not the only way to follow nature. When a mother comes to the hospital, the doctor always follows nature. That is to let the mother reach the full term, and when labor occurs, she is monitored for normal delivery. If a mother wants to have an early cesarean section, we do not allow it.

“Following nature and having the supervision and care of medical staff and village midwives to guide breathing skills, giving instructions, and safe delivery… instead of following nature and monitoring the birth at home without supervision, which is full of risks. Being natural means after the baby is born, keeping the baby skin-to-skin, breastfeeding immediately, and cutting the umbilical cord slowly… That is respecting nature with a scientific nature,” Dr. Quyet recommends.

Meanwhile, in an exchange on Infonet, Dr. Nguyen Huu Trung - Director of the Royal Obstetrics Clinic (HCMC), the above natural birth method has the potential for many obstetric complications for both mother and newborn. In cases where the mother is just lucky, like the daily "dropped birth" (dropped birth) can still occasionally happen somewhere, so this cannot be used as an advice for the whole community to apply and consider natural pregnancy.

Opposing the unscientific "natural birth" trend, Dr. Tran Vu Quang - Central Obstetrics Hospital said: "The concept of "natural birth" does not exist in medical literature yet? Yet many people take advantage of it to spread false information that endangers many pregnant women.

“The trend of "interbreeding" and giving birth in a "natural" way has just been spread and is causing a lot of anger in the community due to its unscientific nature, posing many potential risks to the health of mothers and newborns... Why are there still unscientific schools of thought in this day and age? Who organizes the classes? Who reports and where are they located? The authorities should clarify this,” a reader named Quan suggested.

Previously, on March 6, 2018, when there was information that a young mother in Hung Yen also refused to go to the hospital to give birth at home "naturally", the Ministry of Health also issued a document advising pregnant women not to give birth at home. Specifically, according to the Ministry of Health, giving birth at home can lead to serious risks and complications such as hemorrhage, uterine rupture, infection, fetal heart failure, neonatal tetanus, and even death of mother and child...

The Department of Maternal and Child Health recommends that women should go to a medical facility when giving birth. “Although childbirth is a normal physiological process, to ensure safety, when pregnant and giving birth, women must go to a medical facility to receive pregnancy management, prenatal care, delivery, and postnatal care for mother and child according to professional procedures.”