MfD: Women considering outpatient, home childbirth

Prague, Feb 14 (CTK) - A number of Czech pregnant women are considering home childbirth and in-hospital outpatient childbirth in connection with the threatening mass departure of doctors in March that may close some wards or even whole hospitals, the daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes Monday.

Up to one quarter of Czech hospital doctors handed in their notices, demanding higher salaries. They say they will not withdraw them unless the state gives in to all their demands. The Health Ministry has been intensively negotiating with doctors' representatives for several weeks.

"I wanted to give birth in Krnov but the local hospital will probably be closed," a woman from nearby Ostrava, northern Moravia, told MfD. "If no complication is expected, I would like to give birth at home," she said.

Though doctors working in the Ostrava Teaching Hospital do not intend to leave their jobs and the maternity clinic plans to increase the number of the beds for mothers with newborn babies, the clinic's head Ondrej Simetka understands the concern of future mothers.

"If some maternity clinics close down or limit their operation, care for women in labour and especially newborns will be problematic. There would not be enough beds for the babies," Simetka told the paper.

Michaela Mrowetz, a clinical psychologist from Ostrava, said there should be more support to in-hospital outpatient childbirth and home childbirth in the current situation.

The present system of obstetrics where mothers and newborns without any health problems have to stay in hospital up to five days after labour is untenable, Mrowetz said.

She said people are more interested in safe outpatient or home childbirth with a midwife now.

But most Czech doctors are against home childbirths.

"I really don't consider it safe to give birth at home," Simetka said.

Simetka introduced outpatient childbirth last year at his clinic. Healthy women may leave the clinic several hours after giving birth if they produce a certificate that a pediatrician would take over the care for the newborn baby.

Ivana Koenigsmarkova, head of the Czech midwives' association, noted that women who leave hospital shortly after delivery have to pay the care in the next days by themselves. It is common abroad that health insurance companies cover the costs of midwives' visits at the mother's home after childbirth, Koenigsmarkova added.