– The work does not slow down. It is more complex and requires more resources. That’s according to ward midwife at Stavanger University Hospital, Lilly Kleppa. Summer is peak season at the university hospital in Stavanger. And it’s busy in the delivery room, despite the fact that the number of children being born is falling. – Today there will probably be 12 children that I know about, says the midwife. Ward midwife Lilly Kleppa and her colleagues are busy in the maternity ward at Stavanger Hospital. Photo: Kjersti Hetland New guidelines Several of the births are now induced. This means that they are started with the help of artificial hormones. – Once you’ve seen labor start, you start on that one day, and can continue for four or five days before the contractions start. Now as much as 30 percent of all births are initiated artificially. This is twice as large a proportion as in 2008. One of the reasons is new guidelines for the treatment of pregnant women with overtime and other risks. The new guidelines from the Norwegian Directorate of Health have led to more births being initiated earlier than before. You can read them here (external link). The guidelines are intended to be advisory to ensure the quality of the service. The increase in initiated births is therefore large. In 2021, we reached 28.4 per cent. – Then the birth takes time. From the time the women are induced until they give birth, they must have the help and supervision of health personnel, explains the ward midwife. More complicated births Midwife and nursing specialist coordinator at SUS, Torill Tegle Brodneland, sees that the time before birth takes longer. – It is special because several births are induced, she says. Midwife and nursing specialist coordinator at SUS, Torill Tegle Brodneland, can tell you that births are more demanding than before. Photo: Svein Lunde / Svein Lunde In addition, they are becoming more complicated, something Kleppa says there are several reasons for. – Those giving birth are older when they start having children than before. We see more diabetes and higher BMI, she says. Lack of people at the hospital – Despite the fact that the number of births is falling, we cannot reduce the number of midwives, says Brodneland. It is also not relevant to cut man-years. It is a big challenge to fill the open positions at the hospital in Stavanger. As of now, 9 out of 100 man-years are vacant. This is a development announced in a report (external link) from the Directorate of Health from 2020. Here it is stated that the workload for, among other things, midwives has increased, without this development being taken into account at the health care company, which has tight finances. In addition, every sixth specialist nurse and midwife was over 60 years old. – People are tired, they are. It must be allowed to say, says midwife Kleppa. Odny Hovtun Bjorland, clinic manager at the Women’s Clinic at SUS, says that several midwives have quit to work in the municipality. – It is very good to have good pregnancy and maternity care, but it is a disadvantage for those giving birth when the experienced midwives disappear from the emergency hospital, says Bjorland. She says that one of the reasons why more midwives choose to work for the municipality is because they get more favorable working hours. Oddny Bjorland is clinic manager at SUS, and says it is a challenge to fill the midwife positions. Photo: Svein Lunde / Svein Lunde Safe to give birth The ward midwife at SUS clarifies that it is safe to give birth. – We make sure that there are enough people at work. The birthing center is not being operated in an irresponsible manner, says Kleppa. Until then, the solution is more extra guards for those who run in the corridors on their feet. – We get good feedback from those who have been inside and given birth, she concludes. The tree of life at SUS shows how many births there have been this year. Each leaf represents a child. Photo: Arild Eskeland
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Women give birth to fewer children, but the births are more complicated – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
