CHANGE: Midwives have changed in recent years. Many have a risk factor. – It could be high blood pressure, preeclampsia, they could have diabetes or growth-retarded children, says Linn Charlotte Nordstrand, midwife and shop steward in the Norwegian Midwives’ Association. Photo: Julie Holmberg / VG
BERGEN (VG) The women giving birth are getting older and the complications more. But the number of midwives is decreasing in several of the country’s hospitals.
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Figures obtained by VG show a decrease in the number of midwifery-years in several of the hospitals with maternity wards.
In 2015, Helse Bergen had 191 midwifery man-years. In 2022, the number had decreased to 172.
At the same time, there will be more complicated births.
– The breeding population has changed. We have more “older” women giving birth, more overweight, more have diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure and more women get preeclampsia. We are also initiating more births. All this requires more resources, but we will have fewer midwives on the wards, says Linn Charlotte Nordstrand, midwife at Haukeland University Hospital and shop steward in the Midwives Association.
Uncomplicated
In one of the rooms at the hospital in the middle of Bergen, a newborn little boy lies in his mother’s arms. Rebekka Sofie and Brynjar Bakken Aarskog tell of a wonderful experience when the boy, who may be called Edgar, was born. They will soon be returning home and starting their new lives as parents.
Rebekka Sofie gave birth at Storken. She was a woman in labor who was considered to have no risk factors and gave birth in the ward where “green” women give birth.
But more and more women are assessed as risk-bearing.
In the big picture, fewer children are being born in Norway. But in 2021 had 48 per cent of all births have one or more complications or interventions, according to figures VG has received from FHI.
They have looked at the categories caesarean section, forceps/vacuum, heavy bleeding, birth tears, induced labor and low Apgar score after birth. It is a system for rapid assessment of the general condition of newborns.
In 2012, the proportion of births with complications or interventions was 42 per cent.
WITHOUT RISK FACTOR: Rebekka Sofie and Brynjar Bakken Aarskog had a great experience when they had a son. Photo: Julie Holmberg / VG
Risk factors
– There are risk factors for the majority of women who give birth. We have 4,500 births a year here and most of the women have something or other that causes us to categorize them as “red.” It requires more resources during pregnancy and birth. Part of our mission is to give women the birth experience they want. With the work pressure we have, it is often difficult to achieve, says Nordstrand.
The woman in labor must be followed up by two midwives throughout the process. When labor starts or is about to start, she must turn to the person in charge, who will be assisted by colleagues or a doctor if necessary.
Info
Facts birth women
* The average age of a woman giving birth in Norway is 30.2 years for the first child, and 32 years for the second child.
* Ten years ago, the average age for first-time mothers was 28.5 years.
* Around 30 per cent of births are initiated.
* Around 15 per cent of births end with caesarean section.
* 40 per cent of women who become pregnant in Norway are overweight or obese just before the start of pregnancy
* The professional community believes that prenatal care will need to be equipped for the increasing follow-up needs of pregnant women because the proportion of pregnant women who are overweight is increasing.
sea view
Several man-years
In total, the number of agreed midwifery years in the specialist health service has increased by 14 since 2015.
But that does not mean that all the positions are filled. Figures obtained by VG show that a number of midwife positions are unfilled or that nurses are employed in midwife positions.
Info
Duties of a midwife
* Midwives have a master’s degree that builds on a bachelor’s in nursing. A midwife has at least one year of practice as a nurse and two years of specialization in obstetrics, women’s health and prenatal care.
* A midwife has independent responsibility for following up healthy pregnant women through pregnancy, birth and maternity. They may also have other tasks in women’s health, such as contraceptive guidance, pap smears and post-abortion interviews. (Directorate of Health)
sea view
The Midwives Association’s representative Linn Charlotte Nordstrand at the maternity department at Helse Begen confirms that the midwives group notices that there are fewer of them.
– The job is perceived as tougher. The work pressure is greater, there are fewer of us to fill the shifts. The department is quite full at all times. More births are initiated, more are prolonged and there are more major bleedings, says Nordstrand.
She describes the midwife’s job as very important in relation to women’s health.
– Now there is a shortage of midwives and it creates ripple effects far beyond what we experience on the ward. We need midwives throughout the pregnancy, we need those who work with childbirth and those who are present for the woman during childbirth, says Nordstrand.
The elected midwife believes that when the job she and her colleagues get to do a good job with the woman in the hospital, it has ripple effects far beyond the first few days.
– The start of the mother/child bond takes place with us. If the woman has a bad experience, it can come up again later. Good birth and maternity care is good social economy, says Nordstrand.
Nurses in midwifery positions
Political leader of the Association of Midwives, Lena Henriksen, tells VG that many midwife positions are filled by nurses.
– It may look as if the positions have been filled. But there are now many nurses working as midwives, says Henriksen.
HARD PRESS: Political leader of the Midwives Association visited colleagues in Tromsø. She says they were clear that they did not do their job well enough. Photo: Sonja Balci
She visited colleagues at UNN in Tromsø on Tuesday evening. It has been a very busy summer there. Employees have described the conditions as chaotic. In July, a little boy died in his mother’s womb in week 42 of the pregnancy.
– In the course of two years, 14 midwives have left UNN because it is not possible to facilitate rotation. Midwives want to do a good job for the woman giving birth. They experience tremendous work pressure. The support functions are gone. The sofa in the guard room where you could rest is gone. , says Henriksen.
The midwives she met in Tromsø were clear that they are not doing their job well enough.
– They say that each budget year begins with a process on savings. They feel that they don’t get to do their job and describe it as terrible, says Lena Henriksen.
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Published: 04.09.23 at 08:24
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2023-09-04 06:24:14
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