Good Practices on Labour and Birth Care

Abstract

Integr J Nurs Med , Volume 2(1): 1–2, 2021 The implementation of good care practices for normal childbirth and the reduction of unnecessary interventions, recommended by the World Health Organization since 1996, has been reinforced by the Brazilian Ministry of Health through successive public policies [1]. The literature, however, suggests that there are gaps in the understanding of the work process of professionals who work in childbirth care, and there is low adherence to practices based on scientific evidence by the group [2]. A few decades ago, when a woman would begin labour, she would start the so-called pilgrimage in search of a bed in maternity wards. When she would get a place, she would be admitted without the right of a companion. Conducting labour included fasting, enteroclysis, trichotomy, routine venous hydration, routine oxytocin, collective pre-delivery, lithotomy delivery, routine episiotomy, kristeller maneuver, among other practices without scientific evidence. The parturients did not question the medical or nursing conduct. They remained passive throughout labour and delivery, entrusting their bodies to the “protagonists of birth”.