Editing Childbirth (section)

==Accommodation==
=== Location ===
{{further|Home birth}}
Childbirth routinely occurs in hospitals in many [[developed countries]]. Before the 20th century and in some countries to the present day, such as [[Netherlands|the Netherlands]], it has more typically occurred at home.<ref name=stearns>{{cite book |title= Encyclopedia of Social History |volume= V. 780 |series= Garland Reference Library of Social Sciences |publisher= Taylor & Francis | veditors = Stearns PN |isbn= 978-0-8153-0342-8 |location= London |page= 144 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kkIeyCEedrsC&pg=PA144 |year= 1993 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160102154830/https://books.google.com/books?id=kkIeyCEedrsC&pg=PA144 |archive-date= 2 January 2016 }}</ref>

In rural and [[remote communities]] of many countries, hospitalised childbirth may not be readily available or the best option. Maternal evacuation is the predominant risk management method for assisting mothers in these communities.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|title=Indigenous experiences of pregnancy and birth| first1 = Hannah Neufeld | last1 = Tait | first2 = Jaime | last2 = Cidro | name-list-style = vanc |isbn=978-1772581355|oclc=1012401274|year= 2018| publisher = Demeter Press }}</ref> Maternal evacuation is the process of relocating pregnant women in remote communities to deliver their babies in a nearby urban hospital setting.<ref name=":5" /> This practice is common in Indigenous [[Inuit]] and [[Northern Manitoba|Northern Manitoban]] communities in [[Canada]] as well as [[Aboriginal Australians|Australian aboriginal]] communities. Maternal evacuation, due to a lack of social support provided to these women, can have negative effects on mothers. These negative effects include an increase in maternal newborn complications and postpartum depression, and decreased breastfeeding rates.<ref name=":5" />

The [[locus in quo|exact location]] in which childbirth takes place is an important factor in determining nationality, in particular for [[birth aboard aircraft and ships]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

=== Hospitals ===
====Baby Friendly Hospitals====

In 1991 the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a global programme, the [[Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative]] (BFHI), that urges birthing centres and hospitals to institute procedures that encourage mother/baby bonding and breastfeeding.  The [[Johns Hopkins Hospital]] describes the process of receiving the Baby Friendly designation:
{{blockquote|It involves changing long-standing policies, protocols and behaviors. The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative includes a very rigorous credentialing process that includes a two-day site visit, where assessors evaluate policies, community partnerships and education plans, as well as interview patients, physicians and staff members.<ref name="hopkinsmedicine.org">{{cite web |title=The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative |url=https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/gynecology_obstetrics/specialty_areas/birthing-services/johns-hopkins-hospital/baby-friendly.html#:~:text=The%20Baby-Friendly%20Hospital%20Initiative%20%28BFHI%29%2C%20a%20global%20program,of%20care%20for%20infant%20feeding%20and%20mother-baby%20bonding. |website=Johns Hopkins Medicine |access-date=January 9, 2022 |archive-date=9 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109222941/https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/gynecology_obstetrics/specialty_areas/birthing-services/johns-hopkins-hospital/baby-friendly.html#:~:text=The%20Baby-Friendly%20Hospital%20Initiative%20%28BFHI%29%2C%20a%20global%20program,of%20care%20for%20infant%20feeding%20and%20mother-baby%20bonding. |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

Every major health organisation, such as the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|CDC]], supports the BFHI.  As of 2019, 28% of hospitals in the US have been accredited by the WHO.<ref name="hopkinsmedicine.org"/><ref>{{cite web |title=The CDC Guide to Breastfeeding Interventions |url=https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/pdf/bf_guide_1.pdf |website=CDC |access-date=9 January 2022 |archive-date=21 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121014658/https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/pdf/bf_guide_1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Facilities===
[[File:The Foreign Workers in Britain, 1914-1918 Q27752.jpg|thumb|A maternity ward in Britain, 1918]]
Facilities for childbirth include:
* A ''maternity ward'', also called ''maternity unit'', ''labour ward'' or ''delivery ward'', is generally a [[hospital department]] that provides [[health care]] to women and their children during childbirth. It is generally closely linked to the hospital's [[neonatal intensive care unit]] and/or [[obstetric surgery]] unit if present. It usually includes facilities both for childbirth and for [[postpartum]] rest and observation of mothers in normal as well as complicated cases.
* A [[maternity hospital]] is a hospital that specialises in caring for women while they are pregnant and during childbirth and provide care for newborn babies,
* A [[birthing center|birthing centre]] is a [[midwife]]-led unit that generally presents a more home-like environment. Birthing centres may be located on hospital grounds or "free standing" (that is, not affiliated with a hospital).
* A [[home birth]] is usually accomplished with the assistance of a midwife. Some women choose to give birth at home without any professionals present, termed an [[unassisted childbirth]].

===Associated occupations===
[[File:Modelo-de-quadril.jpg|thumb|Model of pelvis used in the beginning of the 19th century to teach technical procedures for a successful childbirth. Museum of the History of Medicine, [[Porto Alegre]], Brazil]]

[[Doctor of Medicine|Medical doctors]] who practise in the field of childbirth include categorically specialised [[obstetrics|obstetricians]], [[family medicine|family practitioners]] and [[general practice|general practitioners]] whose training, skills and practices include obstetrics, and in some contexts [[general surgeon]]s. These physicians and surgeons variously provide care across the whole spectrum of normal and abnormal births and pathological labour conditions. Categorically specialised obstetricians are qualified [[surgeon]]s, so they can undertake surgical procedures relating to childbirth. Some family practitioners or general practitioners also perform obstetrical surgery. Obstetrical procedures include [[cesarean section]]s, [[episiotomy|episiotomies]], and assisted delivery. Categorical specialists in obstetrics are commonly trained in both [[obstetrics and gynaecology]] (OB/GYN), and may provide other medical and surgical gynaecological care, and may incorporate more general, well-woman, [[primary care]] elements in their practices. [[Maternal–fetal medicine]] specialists are obstetrician/gynecologists subspecialised in managing and treating high-risk pregnancy and delivery.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[Anaesthetists]] or [[anaesthetists]] are medical doctors who specialise in pain relief and the use of drugs to facilitate surgery and other painful procedures. They may contribute to the care of a woman in labour by performing an [[epidural]] or by providing [[anaesthesia]] (often [[spinal anaesthesia]]) for Cesarean section or [[forceps delivery]]. They are experts in [[pain management during childbirth]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[Obstetrics gynecology nursing|Obstetric nurses]] assist midwives, doctors, women, and babies before, during, and after the birth process, in the hospital system. They hold various [[Nursing board certification|nursing certifications]] and typically undergo additional obstetric training in addition to standard [[Nursing school|nursing training]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[Paramedic]]s are healthcare providers that are able to provide emergency care to both the mother and infant during and after delivery using a wide range of medications and tools on an ambulance. They are capable of delivering babies but can do very little for infants that become "stuck" and are unable to be delivered vaginally.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[Lactation consultant]]s assist the mother and newborn to [[breastfeed]] successfully. A [[health visitor]] comes to see the mother and baby at home, usually within 24 hours of discharge, and checks the infant's [[adaptation to extrauterine life]] and the mother's [[postpartum physiological changes]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

==== Birth attendants ====
Different categories of [[birth attendant]]s may provide support and care during pregnancy and childbirth, although there are important differences across categories based on professional training and skills, practice regulations, and the nature of care delivered. Many of these occupations are highly professionalised, but other roles exist on a less formal basis.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[Midwifery|Midwives]] are autonomous practitioners who provide basic and emergency health care before, during and after pregnancy and childbirth, generally to women with low-risk pregnancies. Midwives are trained to assist during labour and birth, either through direct-entry or nurse-midwifery education programmes. Jurisdictions where [[midwifery]] is a regulated profession will typically have a registering and disciplinary body for quality control, such as the American Midwifery Certification Board in the United States,<ref>{{cite web |title=About AMCB |url=http://www.amcbmidwife.org/about-amcb |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223000426/http://www.amcbmidwife.org/about-amcb |archive-date=23 February 2014 |access-date=20 February 2014}}</ref> the College of Midwives of British Columbia in Canada<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- American Pregnancy Association website --> |title=Welcome to the College of Midwives of British Columbia |url=http://www.cmbc.bc.ca/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917090243/http://www.cmbc.bc.ca/ |archive-date=17 September 2013 |access-date=30 August 2013 |work=College of Midwives of British Columbia website |publisher=<!-- American Pregnancy Association website -->}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Province of British Columbia |date=21 August 2013 |title=Health Professions Act |url=http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/00_96183_01 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825071500/http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/00_96183_01 |archive-date=25 August 2013 |access-date=30 August 2013 |work=Statues and Regulations of British Columbia internet version |publisher=Queens Printer |volume=Chapter 183 |location=Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |orig-year=Revised Statues of British Columbia 1996}}</ref> or the [[Nursing and Midwifery Council]] in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- American Pregnancy Association website --> |date=31 August 2011 |title=Our role |url=http://www.nmc-uk.org/About-us/Our-role/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905035801/http://www.nmc-uk.org/About-us/Our-role/ |archive-date=5 September 2013 |access-date=30 August 2013 |work=Nursing & Midwifery Council website |publisher=<!-- American Pregnancy Association website --> |orig-year=Created 2010-02-24 |location=London, England}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |year=2002 |title=The Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/253/contents/made |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808173537/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/253/contents/made |archive-date=8 August 2013 |publisher=[[Office of Public Sector Information|Her Majesty's Stationery Office]], [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]], [[Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Justice]], [[Government of the United Kingdom|Her Majesty's Government]] |volume=No. 253 |location=London, England}}</ref>

In the past, midwifery played a crucial role in childbirth throughout most indigenous societies. Although western civilisations attempted to assimilate their birthing technologies into certain indigenous societies, like [[Turtle Islands, Tawi-Tawi|Turtle Island]], and get rid of the midwifery, the National Aboriginal Council of Midwives brought back the cultural ideas and midwifery that were once associated with indigenous birthing.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Burton |first=Nadya |title=Natal signs: cultural representations of pregnancy, birth and parenting |date=2015 |publisher=Demeter Press |isbn=978-1926452326 |oclc=949328683 |name-list-style=vanc}}</ref>

In jurisdictions where midwifery is not a regulated profession, [[traditional birth attendant]]s, also known as traditional or lay midwives, may assist women during childbirth, although they do not typically receive formal health care education and training.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Childbirth educators are instructors who aim to teach pregnant women and their partners about the nature of pregnancy, labour signs and stages, techniques for giving birth, breastfeeding and newborn baby care. Training for this role can be found in hospital settings or through independent certifying organisations. Each organisation teaches its own curriculum and each emphasises different techniques. The [[Lamaze technique]] is one well-known example.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[Doula]]s are assistants who support mothers during pregnancy, labour, birth, and postpartum. They are not medical attendants; rather, they provide emotional support and non-medical pain relief for women during labour. Like childbirth educators and other [[unlicensed assistive personnel]], certification to become a doula is not compulsory, thus, anyone can call themself a doula or a childbirth educator.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

[[Nanny#Types|Confinement nannies]] are individuals who are employed to provide assistance and stay with the mothers at their home after childbirth. They are usually experienced mothers who took courses on how to take care of mothers and newborn babies.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

=== Role of males ===
{{See also|Men's role in childbirth}}

Both preterm and full term infants benefit from skin to skin contact, sometimes called [[kangaroo care]], immediately following birth and for the first few weeks of life. Some fathers have begun to hold their newborns skin to skin; the new baby is familiar with the father's voice and it is believed that contact with the father helps the infant to stabilise and promotes father to infant bonding. Looking at recent studies, a 2019 review found that the level of [[oxytocin]] was found to increase not only in mothers who had experienced early skin to skin attachment with their infants but in the fathers as well, suggesting a [[neurobiological]] connection.<ref name="Oxytocin and early parent-infant in"/> If the infant's mother had a caesarean birth, the father can hold their baby in skin-to-skin contact while the mother recovers from the anaesthetic.<ref name=fathers/>