Why are American home birth midwives taught never to massage the uterus after birth? Is it dangerous? Or is what they are taught dangerous misinformation?
The major causes of 75% of maternal deaths world-wide after birth are severe bleeding after childbirth, infections, and high blood pressure from pre-eclampsia and eclampsia.
In one trial involving 200 women, uterine massage was given every 10 minutes for 60 minutes after delivery of the placenta, which effectively reduced blood loss, and the need for additional medications, by some 80%. The numbers of women losing more than 500 mL of blood were too small for meaningful comparison. Two women in the control group and none in the uterine massage group needed blood transfusions.
A fundal massage is when your provider or nurse is assessing the location in your belly and firmness of the top of the uterus, which is called the fundus.
Typically after birth, the fundus is located around the belly button or a little below, and directly midline in the abdomen.
The reason for the fundal massage is to prevent or treat postpartum hemorrhage. The massage causes the uterus to contract and clamp down to stop the bleeding from the wound inside the uterus where the placenta was located.
There is a dangerous fad going on in the United States with the midwives who do home births. They are all being taught what they call, “hands off” midwifery care, which means- No VAGINAL EXAMS. And they are told to NEVER touch or massage the mother’s abdomen even if a mother is bleeding profusely. These are absolutely dangerous teachings. ALL professional midwives should know how to assess the position of the baby, dilation of the cervix, and after the birth of the baby how to massage the uterus to prevent dangerous blood loss.
The truth is in the U.S. today, midwives practicing at home or in their own birth clinics are getting CPM (Certified Professional Midwives) licenses based on what MANA (Midwives Alliance of North America) and NARM (North American Registry of Midwives) decide is necessary education.
I have read some of what they teach and it is very inferior to what professional midwives such as CNM’s (Certified Nurse Midwives) and European Midwives are required to know to pass their exams before being allowed to practice.
I don’t agree necessarily with Free Births (do it yourself without a midwife or doctor), but with a hands-off midwife, what’s the difference?
