A Space to Give Birth In 2 Flier

http://groups.google.com/group/a-space-to-give-birth-in/web/flyer_sspacetobirthin2.pdf

Sensory rooms

As part of our research we visited a Multi-sensory (Snoezelen) room. These rooms are designed to deliver stimuli to various senses, using lighting effects, color, sounds, music, scents, etc.

They are usually used for children with learning difficulties and autism, but some research has recently been done on the use of Snoezelen rooms to give birth in.

This was a qualitative study, with in depth interviews of sixteen women that used Snoezelen rooms to give birth in.

The findings of the study found six themes from the data which providing insight into what a Snoezelen environment can offer a labouring woman: distraction; relaxation; comfort; environmental control; choice of complementary therapies; and safety in a home-like atmosphere.

Additional categories revealed factors that facilitated and/or detracted use of the room such as familiarity with features, being offered information and choice, timing in labour, the support person's response and working order of the room's features.

Reference

Women's experiences of using a Snoezelen room during labour in Western Australia,
Yvonne Hauck, Catherine Rivers, Kathleen Doherty, MidwiferyVolume 24, Issue 4, December 2008, Pages 460-470

A Space to Give Birth in event FACT, Liverpool May 18th

We now have confirmation of a fantastic line of speakers at our next event.

A free public event on Maternity Room design at FACT (http://www.fact.co.uk/) Liverpool on Monday May 18th 10am-4pm.
With presentations from-

LJMU Design department and Deverra- a video summary from the first ‘A Space to give birth in’ event in FACT in March 2009- a forum on requirements for women in the design of spaces for labour

National Childbirth Trust- Better Birth Environment campaign update
RORSA Designers of the award winning Cork Maternity unit birthing rooms (http://www.idi-design.ie/awards/2007/grandprix.htm)

Bianca Lepori is an anthropologically, medically and psychologically informed architect and designer living in Rome. Over the past twenty years, she has researched women’s psycho-physiological needs at birth and successfully redesigned birthplaces and furniture accordingly. Her books, articles, lectures and consultancy on this subject have contributed to attitudinal change, practice and implementation. She is a fellow of the School for Social Entrepreneurs in London.Author of: Creating Birth Space to Enable Undisturbed Birth in Birth Territory and Midwifery Guardianship(2008) by Fahy, Foureur, and Hastie (Elsevier) http://www.sheilakitzinger.com/Features/Bianca%20Lepori.htm

A few more presentations to confirm so will add a schedule ASAP

Ulster Hospital Maternity Unit

This maternity unit has a home from home area with seven rooms. This is a new unit within the Ulster Hospital. It is a midwife-led unit consisting of seven spacious rooms, all with en suite facilities and birthing pool. Opened in Summer 2007.

As you can see they have many innovative aspects to the rooms, I love the way the wall between the pool and the bedroom can be pulled back to make one space.

They also have some equipment from the German company FEBROMED which makes equipment for birthing rooms, that I feel, could really improve the way women use the space within birthing rooms, and encourage upright positions to help babies descent and pushing in the second stage. And also to encourage partners to be involved and physically in contact with each other.

Elaine Madden (Lead Midwife, Ulster Maternity Unit,. South Eastern Trust) said that the equipment is really popular and well used and that mums love it.

Results of a survey carried out by the Healthcare Commission to find out what women think about the maternity care they have received, found in Liverpool that:

20% (England Average 14.8%) of women felt unable to move around and choose the position that made them most comfortable?

and when asked-

What position were you in when your baby was born?(Of those who had a vaginal delivery.)

8% (12% England average) were standing squatting or kneeling (as opposed to sitting, lying or in stirrups)

Considering that a recent Cochrane review also found that women who walk, sit, kneel or otherwise avoid lying in bed during early labor can shorten the first stage of labor and were less likely to seek pain relief through epidural analgesia, equipment like that used in Ulster hospital, should, I feel be in all Maternity units!

References

Lawrence A, et al. Maternal positions and mobility during first stage of labor. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Issue 2, 2009.

Interviews about birth environment from FACT Liverpool March 09

St Mary's Hospital, London

I am going to start featuring pictures and details of birthing rooms which have been designed in an innovative way to facilitate physiological birth.

I am hoping the new birthing center rooms in Liverpool (the Big Push project) will incorporate some of these ideas.

The first hospital I want to feature is St Mary's in London. The midwife-led St Mary’s birth centre opened its doors on June 4 2008 following four years of planning and preparation.

The center is open to women with low risk pregnancies.

All five bedrooms are en-suite, with a double bed, mats, birth stools and hammock as well as a TV for the whole family to relax together and welcome their new arrival. Three of the bedrooms are fitted with corner baths and the others with a birth pool and wet room.

When we interviewed women at the 'A Space to give birth in event in FACT' one of the issues that came up was the difficulty in transition from one physical space to another, having to walk down busy public corridors in the second stage of labour or transition to get in a pool.

As you can see in the picture above, St Mary's have en suite wet rooms with pools, so women can get in or out of the pool as they choose.

I also love the hammock which women can use to hang onto, this technique of 'dangling' is described on the Spinning babies website as 'allowing the pelvis to have the most mobility of any technique' and the "baby come out" position, so named by Penny Simkin.

I think the pull down double beds are a FANTASTIC idea. With the beds up, there is lots of space to move around and there is less of that sense of a bed dominating the room. The bed is also low to the ground so may feel more 'Safe' than beds which are high up off the ground, in the Cork birthing room that I mentioned in a previous post, whilst I love the decor (much more like an expensive spa than a hospital) the bed does not look as comfortable or welcoming as St Mary's!

The beds at St Mary's are also Doubles, which means there's room for Dad too! This that they are valuing fathers and the creation of the family unit.

This takes on board the recommendations of the Fatherhood Institute (The Dad Deficit: The Missing Piece of the Maternity Jigsaw)

Their research found that-

• 70% of men and women (asked) agree that dads should be able to stay overnight in hospital with their partner when their baby is born.

Sarah's Musings: Concepts of birth unit design

Sarah's Musings: Concepts of birth unit design
This is a really interesting blog from a Midwife in New Zealand who has been creating a virtual birthing center in the online world 'Second Life' based on the work of Italian architect Bianca Lepori.