Dangers of giving birth at home

The practice of calling midwives to assist with childbirth at home remains common in some mountainous areas, especially among ethnic minority communities. Many children are born in the fields and later suffer from disabilities, while others do not even have the chance to utter their first cry...

Doctors examine postpartum women at the hospital. Photo: SKĐS

The first child... the third

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy from Xuan Quang 3 commune (Dong Xuan district) recounted that she had four pregnancies, but gave birth to healthy babies, only managing to raise two children. Her first child died shortly after birth at home, and her second child also died prematurely...

Mr. Tran Van Nhi, also from Xuan Quang 3 commune, shared: He has two children born at home. When his wife had labor pains, the family called a midwife to help deliver the baby at home and bathe the child. The first child developed normally, and when she became pregnant with the second, the couple were working in the fields far from home. According to his wife's calculations, the baby was still a week away from birth, but unexpectedly, she gave birth prematurely, and the child was born in the fields, so they named him Ray. The child named Ray was disabled and stunted.

Ms. La Lang Thi Bong from Phu Mo commune (Dong Xuan district) only managed to raise her third child after giving birth. Ms. Bong explained: "My first and second children died prematurely. Losing those two children was very sad. With the third child, I went to the health station and hospital for checkups and regular ultrasounds. The doctors showed me how to move around to avoid miscarriage, and thanks to that, I was able to keep my third child healthy," Ms. Bong said.

Only the mother could be saved.

Ms. Kso Hờ Thư from Ea Chà Rang commune (Sơn Hòa district) has had three pregnancies and deliveries at home, raising two children. When asked why she didn't go to the health station to give birth, she said: "Giving birth at home, calling a midwife to assist is something I'm used to. Giving birth at home is common here; very few people go to the hospital."

During her third pregnancy, Thu followed her usual habit of giving birth at home, but then a problem arose. Thu experienced abdominal pain for two days but couldn't give birth. The situation became critical, so her family took her to the district medical center, where doctors ordered an emergency C-section to "save the mother" because the fetus had died in the womb.

According to the Son Hoa District Health Center, although ethnic minority women in the mountainous district have health insurance cards, many still choose to give birth at home. Many believe that having an extra person to visit and care for the baby at a medical facility is costly. Furthermore, during pregnancy, women in mountainous and ethnic minority areas often lack the resources or do not prioritize regular prenatal checkups. Because of this lack of regular checkups, pregnant women do not know their due date and therefore cannot prepare for childbirth. Babies are often cut using knives or scissors readily available at home. This custom has led to many deaths and birth defects among mothers and children born at home.

Ms. Huynh Thi Cuc from Hoa Vinh ward (Dong Hoa town) said: "I have an older sister who married a man on Phu Quoc island ( Kien Giang province). When she went into labor and had a difficult delivery, she called home, and the whole family cried. According to Ms. Cuc's account, the doctor concluded that the pregnancy was difficult, and the mother was at risk of losing the baby, and vice versa. Therefore, the couple sought treatment in many places and had regular prenatal checkups to monitor the fetus. When labor began, the whole family held their breath in anticipation. Then, thanks to modern medicine, the doctors performed an emergency C-section, saving both mother and child from a '90% chance of death,' but the result was a safe delivery, bringing joy to many."

Ms. Cúc added that they named their child Tỉ because the entire process, from pregnancy to birth and raising, cost billions of dong. There's a folk saying: "Having gold, one doesn't show it off; but having a child, one speaks with admiration." Indeed, having a healthy baby and a child developing normally is a precious gift from nature to every couple.

Maternal and infant mortality rates remain high.

According to statistics from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in Vietnam, although the national maternal mortality rate has decreased to 46% per 100,000 live births in recent years, this figure remains very high in mountainous and ethnic minority areas (100-150 cases per 100,000 live births), especially in the northern midland and mountainous regions and the Central Highlands.

A study indicates that, among reported maternal deaths in mountainous areas, the rates are often higher for certain ethnic groups such as the Hmong (60%) and the Thai (17%). It is estimated that the risk of death during pregnancy or childbirth is four times higher for Hmong mothers compared to Kinh mothers.

The leading cause of death for mothers in ethnic minority areas is home birth or giving birth while being transported to the hospital, accounting for 47.2%. This indicates that ethnic minority mothers still lack proper and complete awareness regarding prenatal check-ups and care as guided by healthcare professionals; delays in seeking medical attention, and when a critical condition arises, emergency care is often too late.

In the coming period, the Department of Health will implement the Provincial People's Committee's plan on healthcare for the people, improving the physical condition and stature of ethnic minorities in mountainous and ethnic minority areas in three districts: Dong Xuan, Son Hoa, and Song Hinh. This plan aims to improve population management capacity in ethnic minority areas, organize professional training courses on prenatal and newborn screening for commune, village, hamlet, and neighborhood levels, including population collaborators, village health workers, and relevant departments and organizations at the grassroots level.

According to the Phu Yen Department of Health, through the inspection of records and the actual facilities and equipment at the commune health stations, it was found that most commune health stations have relatively complete facilities, with clean separate procedure rooms, medicine cabinets, and some equipment and tools for family planning and gynecological examinations. In addition, the health stations are ready to provide family planning services fully and promptly, and supervision and support are carried out quite well. Information is updated in the grassroots health software, and reports and information are stored according to regulations. However, the health centers in districts, towns, and cities have not yet implemented newborn screening and diagnosis, relying instead on central-level prenatal and neonatal screening and diagnosis centers (Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Tu Du Hospital). Therefore, activities to improve the quality of the population, especially prenatal and neonatal screening and diagnosis, still face difficulties. Another difficulty is that pregnant women are not proactive in going to medical facilities for prenatal checkups, or they do so at the wrong time during pregnancy, making it difficult to detect congenital defects; in some cases, congenital defects are only detected when the pregnancy is full-term.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Health Huynh Le Xuan Bich, in the coming period, the Department of Health will implement the Provincial People's Committee's plan on healthcare for the people, improving the physical condition and stature of ethnic minorities in mountainous and ethnic minority areas in three districts: Dong Xuan, Son Hoa, and Song Hinh. This plan aims to improve population management capacity in ethnic minority areas, organize professional training courses on prenatal and newborn screening for commune, village, hamlet, and neighborhood levels, including population collaborators, village health workers, and relevant departments and organizations at the grassroots level; and at the district and commune levels, including health centers, health stations, and population departments...; and to conduct screening, diagnosis, and treatment of certain prenatal and neonatal diseases and disabilities. Accordingly, pregnant women will undergo screening, diagnosis, and treatment of certain prenatal diseases and disabilities; and newborns will undergo screening, diagnosis, and treatment of certain congenital diseases.

Source: https://baophuyen.vn/xa-hoi/202505/nguy-hiem-sinh-con-tai-nha-fc5147c/