Master’s graduate Leokadia Jędrzejewska, coordinator of the Healthy Mother and Child programme at the Wrocław School of Birth and the Wrocław School of Birth for People with Disabilities in Wrocław, invited partners of the person giving birth to the delivery rooms.
– In all our activities and in antenatal education, there is the pregnant person and there is a companion – said the speaker at the Forum, Leokadia Jędrzejewska. – The person is prepared to accompany the woman in the delivery room. You need to know how to provide support and have some knowledge of the organisation of the delivery room, the course of labour itself, and cooperation with the midwife and doctor. Therefore, husbands, the child’s father, partners and female partners are absolutely welcome in the delivery room – added the long-serving midwife.
The experienced midwife, who in the past served as the national consultant in gynaecological and obstetric nursing, was very pleased that the Bolesławiec hospital was introducing perinatal-care standards and was a leader in new initiatives supporting improvements in the quality of care for women and their children.
Since 16 August 2018, Poland has had the Regulation of the Minister of Health on the organisational standard of perinatal care, which clearly defines the model of organisation and quality of medical care received in hospital during pregnancy, physiological childbirth, the postpartum period and care of the newborn. In this model, the most important thing is that the pregnant person can give birth safely, with medical interventions kept to a minimum.
During labour, the pregnant person has the right, among other things, to reliable information, to remain the focus of attention, to be active and to decide whether to use pain relief on request. They may ask for perineal protection, eat and drink when needed, and push at their own pace—all under supervision and in dialogue with the midwife caring for them.
The director of St. Luke’s Hospital in Bolesławiec was pleased by the strong attendance at the hospital’s first Midwifery Forum.
– The attendance shows how great the need was to create a platform connecting mothers and midwives – said Kamil Barczyk. – Midwives play a very important role in education and proper preparation for childbirth, as well as in promoting physiology and the natural course of birth. Poland has too many caesarean births—up to 50%. We have a long way to go to reach the standards recommended by the WHO, namely 15% caesarean sections. There is still much to do – added the director.
The first Midwifery Forum was also attended by the Bolesławiec county head. – This is an important topic and it is attracting interest. I am pleased by the large number of people at the Forum, and I am pleased that the hospital has taken the subject outside its walls and is sharing the latest developments in midwifery, so that every mother knows what new forms of care for her and her baby are available to her – added county head Tomasz Gabrysiak.
The lectures and workshops were accompanied by a trade fair where visitors could purchase dietary supplements for pregnant people and mothers, breastfeeding and milk-expression accessories, hospital bags for newborns and mothers, as well as prams and carrycots. These included a pram with powered assistance for travelling over difficult terrain and an app allowing users to choose three rocking modes.
The istotne.pl portal was the Forum’s media patron.