A simple hold has greatly reduced the number of anal sphincter ruptures among women giving birth at two hospitals in Jutland. Some ruptures, which occur during vaginal delivery when the woman's anal sphincter muscle has a spasm, never heal.
Midwives at the hospitals in Herning and Holstebro have halved the number of birthing mothers with anal sphincter ruptures over the past year by gently using their hand to reduce the speed at which the baby's head exits the mother's vagina.
”It [anal sphincter ruptures] can lead to permanent damage, such as the woman having difficulty keeping in air and stools,” Ole Bredahl Rasmussen, a gynaecologist at Hospitalsenheden Vest hospital group district – which includes Herning and Holstebro hospitals – told DR Nyheder.
READ MORE: Swedish sensation as world's first womb-transplant baby is born
Norwegian grip
Nationwide statistics show that almost 6 percent of all first-time mothers experienced drastic ruptures – a statistic that has fallen by 3.7 percent in Herning and Holstebro.
The method, which was first adopted in Norway about a decade ago, is currently being implemented in Randers Hospital, while similar initiatives are on the way to other hospitals in Denmark.
