5 advantages of tradition: vertical delivery

• April 20, 2024

Throughout history this has been one of the shapes plus usual for the delivery. There are historical references from countries such as Australia, Turkey, India, Africa, Europe, Mesoamerica and South America. There is an explanation, since it is a position natural in which the woman feels comfortable and benefits the labor.

The vertical position is one in which the trunk of the woman and its pelvic channel oscillate within an angle of 45º and 90º with respect to the horizontal plane, the most common positions are: sitting (in chair or stool obstetric), semidecubitus (trunk inclined backwards 45º with respect to the vertical), kneeling , squatting or standing.

Advantage

1. Respiratory effects: the weight of the uterus, baby, placenta, amniotic fluid and blood, help the womb to descend and not exert pressure on the lungs. What increases the relaxation, respiratory capacity and oxygenation of the mother and baby.
2. Mechanical effects: the force of gravity favors the accommodation and descent of the fetus through the different spaces and cavities of the maternal body.
3. It diminishes the duration of the labor of childbirth, as much the one of the period of dilation as the one of the expulsion.
4. Spontaneous termination is more frequent, reducing the need for episiotomies and tears.
5. It provides important psycho-emotional benefits for the mother, such as pain reduction, a sense of freedom, control, participation, and greater satisfaction during and after delivery.

(Source: "Intercultural care of pregnancy, delivery and puerperium in health services.) Vertical position of labor" text of the Undersecretariat of Innovation and Quality, General Directorate of Health Planning and Development, Ministry of Health.

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