the staff denounces a lack of means at the origin of obstetrical violence
The caregivers of the Paule de Viguier maternity hospital of the Toulouse University Hospital denounce obstetrical violence. Violence produced by a lack of means and an overload of work. They are launching an online petition.
“That day, the delivery room was full. We had to give birth to two ladies in the caesarean section”testifies Aline, a midwife. “It’s a room where it’s 19°C, the bed is hard, narrow, it’s difficult for a woman to do her job in these conditions and for a baby to be born in such cold”.
A day like this is not exceptional at the Paule de Viguier hospital of the Toulouse University Hospital. That day, 12 women were welcoming in a service capable of welcoming only 8. A single midwife and a single caregiver were then present to accompany them. Consequence: overwhelmed caregivers and neglected patients. “I helped a first woman to give birth at 9:00 a.m., the next at 9:18 a.m. and I was not able to come back to see them until 2:30 a.m. later”alarmed the midwife who at such times should be at her patient’s bedside for the first feeding or the first bottle, and to check that these young mothers are not bleeding.
A situation that recurs regularly and that caregivers now refuse to accept. Inaugurated in March 2003, the birthing area of the Paule de Viguier hospital was designed to accommodate 3,500 deliveries per year. But now, this figure rises to 5,200 annual births, with a waiting list of 1,500 patients. “This service operates in an emergency and in insecurity”denounces the deputy secretary of the Sud Santé Sociaux union in Haute-Garonne. “We must necessarily add a midwife present permanently, ie 5 additional positions in the birth sector which currently has 38.” He is also asking for the opening of an additional anesthesiologist post.
Because of this work overload, midwives and nurses’ aides are forced to focus on emergencies and neglect their other patients. “We will run in the corridors from patient to patient”says another midwife from this maternity who came to manifest this Tuesday, June 7 with the other caregivers. “We have become care performers, we are no longer perinatal companions. The consequence is for patients who find themselves with latecomers to care.
Delays in care, particularly in the poses of epidurals when the birthing room is saturated. Some even give birth without it being able to be posed. “I am subjected to obstetrical violence against my will. It hurts me, it disgusts me and I take it very badly“, testifies Lisa *, another midwife of this maternity. “Failing to properly relieve pain when possible is violence. Postponing scheduled caesarean sections or inductions for several hours or days is violence and it is dangerous. It is violence obstetrical injuries due to over-activity. I can’t stand having to put this to patients and their families.
Another statement problem, the dilapidation of the 19-year-old maternity ward. “Some rooms have never provided any work, they are dilapidated”regrets Victor Alava. “There are gutted walls, the leggings fall, the armchairs break, it is difficult to regulate the temperature of the birth room.” The trade union representative that specifies works are however not envisaged.
To denounce this situation, the caregivers of the maternity are launching an online petition entitled “To put an end to obstetrical violence at the Toulouse University Hospital”.
They accuse the austerity policies and budgetary restrictions responsible for this mistreatment and demand means in order to be able to work peacefully.
Respondent midwives and caregivers therefore the population to write to the director general of the Toulouse University Hospital or to sign their petition online. By June 7, it had registered 636 signatures.
*Their first names have been changed to preserve their anonymity.