Some hospitals are telling mums ‘hold in’ their babies because they’re short staffed

This is awful.

A recent report in the United States showed that some hospitals have told mums in labour not to push because there was no staff available to deliver the baby. Mums have been told to 'hold in' their babies even though when you're in the late stages of labour it is physically impossible. Some babies have even been born in the car on the way to the hospital because it's not possible to tell the baby to wait a few minutes. One of the most crucial things the medical staff on hand can do for an expectant mum is to allow her to do what her body needs to do. Preventing her from listening to her own body and baby can lead to the mother becoming stressed and complications during the birthing process. Speaking to VICE Dana Gossett, chief of gynaecology at the University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center said;

"If a woman's cervix is fully dilated and she has the urge, she should be allowed to push, barring some unusual complication with mother or baby."

The problem all stems from a lack of trained staff, a problem that is also prevalent in Irish hospitals too. Many doctors and nurses have complained over the years that not enough staff are on hand to deal with the number of patients admitted to Irish hospitals every year and that they are underpaid and overworked. This culminating in the nurses strike earlier this year. That being said some American hospitals have taken it to unnecessary levels with one mum reporting that a midwife pushed a crowning baby back in. Other mums like Elaina Loveland spoke about how traumatic and painful the experience was when she was told not to push because there were no beds available;

 "I've never felt a more painful experience in my life [than] being strapped down and forced to hold a baby in. It was almost worse than the pushing. It was horrible."

I gave birth to my daughter without any painkillers and towards the end, the pain was so blinding I thought I was going to pass out.  The one thing that relieved the pain was being able to push. I can only imagine how painful it must be not to be able to do that. Short staffing is definitely an issue in many hospitals both here and abroad but the health of an expectant mum and her baby should always come first and I sincerely hope that no more mums are told to 'hold in' their babies.