The case in summary: • Elise Thrane in Kristiansand has given birth to three of her four children at home without a midwife present, and believes it is not irresponsible.• There is a growing trend, especially in social media, where women choose to give birth at home without health personnel, even in high-risk births.• The Midwives’ Association NSF believes this trend poses a high risk for mother and child.• Thrane helped start the Facebook group “Birth-unassistert fødsel-Freebirth” in 2013, which now has over 200 members.• The Norwegian authorities recommend not to give birth at home without a midwife, and there have been several cases where women have been rushed to hospital after complications during home birth.• Figures from the Institute of Public Health show that 434 children were born outside a birthing institution in Norway in 2023, but it is unknown how many of these who deliberately chose to give birth at home without a midwife. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – I am not irresponsible because I chose to give birth at home. On the contrary, says mother of four Elise Thrane. Three of her children were born without a midwife present. Here is Elise Thrane with her twins when they were babies. Thrane encourages women to use hospitals if they want to, but she herself gave birth at home alone. Photo: PRIVATE In social media, what can be called an ideology where women want to give birth at home is now spreading. Many people choose to go against the midwife’s advice, and give birth without health personnel – even if it is a risky birth. Giving birth at home without a midwife is not recommended by the Norwegian authorities. – What we see is a trend that we are concerned about, says midwife Helen Marit Torvik in Helse Møre og Romsdal. – The women have a very extreme idea that pregnancy and childbirth are natural. They believe that midwives and doctors use medicines and measures without it being necessary, she says further. Born at home alone Elise Thrane’s first child was born in hospital in 2011. She did not want to do that again. – I think the start-up, tight belts and midwife changes at the hospital were unpleasant. That’s why I want to give birth at home, she says. When she became pregnant with twins, she wanted to give birth at home. But since the birth of twins is considered a high-risk birth, she was not given a midwife at home. Then she read up on childbirth so that she could give birth alone with her husband. Elise Thrane gave birth to twins at home, without a midwife. She helped start the group on Facebook where women who are interested in unassisted childbirth meet and give each other advice. Photo: Vetle Hjortland / news Thrane and her husband started giving birth, but when twin number two was about to come out, the birth stopped. – The baby was lying with its legs down. Then I chose to give her time to turn inside her belly. After three hours she came out safely. In a hospital, they would probably do a caesarean section and not give it time, says Thrane. – Weren’t you afraid that something would go wrong? – It’s never far from a hospital here. It is important for me to stress that any woman who feels she needs hospital should go to hospital. I would have done the same if I had needed it, she says. These are risk births: A risk pregnancy refers to a condition in the pregnant woman or the fetus, or a risk factor in the pregnant woman, which requires special care beyond the usual pregnancy follow-up. Heavy smokers: Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk. Abuse of alcohol, drugs or medication: This can also lead to a high-risk pregnancy. Diseases: Epilepsy, diabetes and inflammatory joint and connective tissue diseases can be risk factors. Previous serious high-risk pregnancies or high-risk births: Women who have experienced this in the past are considered new high-risk pregnancies. Twins or multiples: Multiple fetuses increase the risk. Gestational diabetes, fetal growth retardation, reduced fetal movements, preeclampsia, immunization, bleeding during pregnancy, too little amniotic fluid, risk of premature birth. Source: Babyverden.no Increasing number of members The birth trend “freebirth”, or unassisted birth in Norwegian, is spreading in social media. On Instagram, the topics freebirth and naturalbirth have respectively 104,000 and 640,000 posts. Elise Thrane co-founded the birth group Birth-unassisted birth-Freebirth on Facebook in 2013. – I think it is a good development that women take ownership of their own bodies and birth. We must dare to allow women to choose the birth they want, says Thrane. Since its inception, the number of members has increased from 4-5 to over 200 members. – Many have traumatic experiences from hospital births, and the group is a place to share experiences, says Hannah Siguraas. She helped start the group together with Thrane. New ideology Figures from the Institute of Public Health show that 434 children were born outside a maternity institution in Norway in 2023. Some of these give birth involuntarily while being transported to hospital, while others choose to give birth at home without midwife assistance. But there are no figures on exactly how many people deliberately choose to give birth at home without a midwife. Ellen Blix is a professor of geology at OsloMet. She welcomes a birth debate. Professor at OsloMet, Ellen Blix, has been a midwife for several decades. She sees a change: – Free births have occurred all the time I have been a midwife, but it is new that there is an ideology around it. Why do some women choose to give birth at home without a midwife? In 2020, midwives associated with OsloMet interviewed 12 women who chose to give birth without an authorized midwife. This emerged: Several of the women said that they would have liked to have had a midwife during the birth, but it was not convenient for them. . There were also some of the women who absolutely did not want a midwife with them during the birth. Several of the women had given birth in hospital before, and had had negative experiences, such as not being given enough information and health personnel talking over their heads. The women in the study saw birth as a natural process, and they trusted their own ability to give birth Source: Why do some women choose to give birth at home without a midwife? In 2020, midwives associated with OsloMet interviewed 12 women who chose to give birth without an authorized midwife. Here it emerged that several of the women would have preferred to have a midwife if they had been able to. Some of the women absolutely did not want a midwife during the birth. – It is of course worrying if many women opt out of all pregnancy and birth care, and I would not recommend anyone to do so. However, they are not allowed to refuse medical help to their child, says Ellen Blix. – We midwives have fought for home births with midwives under public authority, and if things go wrong, we are on standby, says head of the Midwives Association NSF, Hanne Charlotte Schjelderup. Photo: PRIVAT Hanne Charlotte Scjelderup in the Midwives’ Association NSF emphasizes that it is important that healthcare personnel catch women who have had traumatic experiences and are reluctant to contact the healthcare system. – We would urgently encourage pregnant women to contact us at the health center to get the right information and plan a birth under safe conditions together with a midwife. Fear for life and health Midwife Helen Marit Torvik says that there have been several concrete incidents where women have rushed to hospital in Møre og Romsdal, because something has gone wrong during a home birth. – Even then, it happens that we are not allowed to check the child’s heartbeat, or do vaginal examinations because they want the least possible intervention from the midwife, she says. Midwife Helen Marit Torvik in Helse Møre og Romsdal at work in the hospital. She has started an account on Snapchat to be a source of facts for pregnant women in social media. Photo: PRIVAT She says that many women she comes into contact with want to give birth at home because they have read that it is good on social media. – This can potentially take lives, if a pregnant woman thinks that it is best for me not to have a good examination, or that it is best for me to give birth without help from a midwife, says Torvik. For Elise Thrane, the birth felt safe, even if the twin girl was lying the wrong way round. – We gave birth in cozy home surroundings where the twins were given the time they needed to come out, without fuss from healthcare personnel, she says. She emphasizes that women who do not feel safe should contact a hospital. Thank you midwife Birgithe Skrøvje lives in Mandal. She is pregnant with her fifth child. She felt alone after the birth and that she was not listened to. – I was sent home with mastitis and was unable to breastfeed. I felt completely alone, says Skrøvje. Birgithe Skrøvje and her family in front of the house in Mandal. Soon the fifth child will arrive, who will be born in the nearby hospital. Photo: PRIVAT She understands that many people are skeptical about the healthcare system. – But, I think it’s very scary that you choose to only trust yourself, she says. She had pre-eclampsia when she was about to give birth to her twins, and experienced that it became critical. She feared that it could go wrong without help from the healthcare system. – The midwife and doctors were absolutely fantastic, she boasts. Published 30.08.2024, at 16.11
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Advise each other to give birth at home without a midwife – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
