A judge orders the hospital admission of a 42-week-old pregnant woman who wanted to give birth at home

It has happened in Oviedo, where a pregnant woman who She was over 42 weeks pregnant and was trying to give birth at home, she was forced to enter the hospital after a medical report that warned of "risk of fetal hypoxia and intrauterine fetal death".

The holder of the Court of Instruction number 1 of Oviedo yesterday received a request signed by the deputy director of Surgical and Critical Services of the Central University Hospital of Asturias (HUCA), which suggested the need to "adopt the measure of admission required for the immediate practice of induced labor", as detailed by the Superior Court of Justice of Asturias (TSJA).

Just two hours after the report was assessed, the judge ordered the local police to go to the woman's home to proceed with her transfer and subsequent admission to the hospital for an induced pact, if applicable.

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When the police arrived at the home, the pregnant woman was accompanied by a private midwife who attended her regularly, who commented that she had controlled the fetus's beats and that the contractions had already begun.

After convincing the husband, who was initially reluctant, the agents got the woman out of her home and then a medical team took care of her until she was admitted to the hospital, where she is currently under medical supervision.

From week 35 without medical checks

As reported by El Mundo, the report accompanied a history of pregnancy controls and visits to the obstetrics service, which indicated that the woman interrupted medical checks at week 35 + 2, despite the insistence of doctors to take them back.

The doctors calculated, based on previous visits, that the woman would be currently in the week 42 + 3 pregnancy.

Can a judge force a pregnant woman to give birth in the hospital against her will?

In 5-10 percent of cases, the pregnancy extends beyond 42 weeks. After 40 weeks, the risks to the fetus begin to increase very slowly and the pregnant woman must be properly controlled frequently to monitor the baby's well-being.

According to the Birth Attention Strategy, as of week 41 + 0, the pregnant woman should be offered the possibility of waiting for the spontaneous start of labor or of inducing labor throughout week 41, since the placenta It could stop providing the necessary nutrients for the baby. Normally, in hospitals, labor is induced by protocol in the week 41 + 3 days.

On the other hand, according to the SEGO protocols, post-term pregnancy (more than 42 weeks) is a reason for inducing labor.

According to Francisca Fernández, responsible for the legal area of ​​El Parto is Our in his Facebook profile, the judge's decision is "absolutely arbitrary and disproportionate", since there was no vital urgency to justify the forced induction.

In such a case, should the mother's right to give birth where she decides to prevail, or is it okay for doctors to intervene if they believe there could be a risk to the baby?

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Video: 2nd Trimester Q&A with Belly to Baby (March 2024).