"I tried to leave the hospital, but I was attracted." Midwife with 50 years of experience on how mothers have changed their mothers

Maria Pastushenko works as a midwife for 48 years. I started working in the village, but most of it took place in the first maternity hospital in Minsk. At the age of 67, Maria Sergeyevna is full of optimism, she does not hide her love for her work and is proud of the fact that thousands of children have appeared with her help.

"I am in the village, I am only 19 years old and I am going to give birth" [19659005] – How did you choose a job?

– I did not choose it. My father died of leukemia when I was eight years old. Mom always spoke, you know, as they say, that he died by the fault of the doctors, he was not examined, badly treated. And I had the thought of becoming a medical worker and treating correctly, to understand why my father was being treated badly.

I wanted to go to university, but my mother was sick and I went to the medical aid department of Slutsk Medical School. Well pbaded the exams, and it turned out that the obstetrics department was short. Six people, myself included, are registered.

We went to the director with tears, we did not want to be midwives. He says, "Girls, go practice, look, at the end of the year you will come, if you will, I will translate for you." After our training, no one had gone to see him. For the first time in my life, I see how a child is born – very interesting. But then we did not know that it was a hellish and difficult job.

– The first births you did, do you remember?

– At first we were trainees, observed and studied. After school, I was badigned to a village in Luban District, and from the first night, I was called to birth. Imagine, I'm in the village, I'm only 19 years old and I'm going to take delivery. It's nice that we were together with a clbadmate. And everything has turned out.

Now I would not work in the village as before. I already understand the situation, what complications can be. Then we sent all the complicated cases to the regional center, but what is birth? It's unpredictable, they can be fast, the bleeding can begin.

– How did the woman who gives birth change during your work?

– Now, there are many sick women, fullness is our scourge. Many women are tender, many have a metabolic disorder, and that affects – they are weaker.

Now, they give birth more difficultly. I will be called at night, I will come to the hospital, sit for three or four hours, take delivery, wait two hours and give it to the nurses to watch the woman. I went home to sleep. Now, I would not be able to cope so quickly, because women give birth to a long, hard, often needed stimulation.

– And how has the attitude towards childbirth changed?

– Now it's easier to work, all underwear have become one time, we work in gloves but on the other hand now there are more infections: HIV , a lot of hepatitis.

Women began giving birth later, although in the early 1940s there were first deliveries. I recently had a woman in 37 years gave birth, there were first births, and she gave birth better than those who give birth to 22.

On the other hand, today is the birth of a woman. There are those who give birth early. Recently, we gave birth to girls at the age of 15 and 16 years old. So, it was before.

The difference is that the pregnancy was often interrupted earlier, but now there is no such thing. Now, women often give birth to a third and a fourth child.

"A little caesarean section is needed – from where you need and you do not need it"

– Do you remember when dad was first seen in the family

– It's been a long time, 15-10 years ago. At first, our medical workers came to the women for their wives: anesthesiologists, surgeons.

Now dads come often, but they are not always morally ready to be present at birth. And if it's not so loose, it's not even bad that it has come, it's easier for midwives, because dad badumes a part burden. He takes care of his wife, takes her to the shower and toilet. She does not behave so aggressively in the presence of her husband.

Of course, there are not always conditions for couple deliveries in the department of the observatory where I work. We have fewer parents than in the other parish. And if I have two women working in a room, and that one of them wants to be with her husband, then the second will feel uncomfortable in this situation [19659007] – How can a woman get acquainted? – It is necessary to find the idea "I will give birth, I will succeed and everything will be fine." Do not expect nurses to give you birth. And you must behave properly during delivery, listen to us, follow the instructions.

Before giving birth, you must unload the organism and sort the food with a more or less liberated bowel.

Visit places where there are many people, not to get sick. Because many colds come to us, sometimes it even affects that water goes prematurely.

And yet, that is my personal opinion, it was thought before: the less people experience pregnancy and the less a woman exhibits her belly the easier it gives birth. True or not, I do not know.

Even when we had a doctor who said that a woman had to give birth to a single-haired woman, she had to have her hair pinned. We still often ask women to untie their tail and, indeed, to give birth more easily.

[19659006] – Are births often painful?

– Yes, and ask for spinal anesthesia, but very little waste … Anesthesia is not always a choir Once put by nature, then a person has to go through it, better it's worth giving birth … Do you know how I gave birth? I was born in the village, I was afraid to behave with disgust and I would be ashamed in front of the doctors. – And in 15 minutes gave birth. I had a clbadic birth.

When I had contractions, my sister's sister was sleeping on the next bed and she was not even awake. So, you can tolerate and give birth while giving birth.

And now women are demanding Caesarean section where it is needed and not necessary. 25 or 20 years ago, tell a Cesarean to a woman, she matures everything. Today, almost every third or fifth person asks him

– When is it better to have a first child?

– Up to 35 years is optimal, but give birth to 37, 42, 47 and 54 years. Who has a situation. We had one case, I was still working in the neighborhood, when a woman at age 54 thought that menopause, but was pregnant. Poisoned in the center of the district to give birth. And she gave birth

– You can tell by the woman when there will be difficult births or not?

– Sometimes you can tell, and we look at the anamnesis. But now I always ask how her mother gave birth. This is how the birth of the mother was, most likely, and give birth to his daughter. I've read somewhere that it's important and how grandmother gave birth, you have to watch two generations.

"Imagine a child who was born!"

– What is the complexity of your work?

– I will tell you a case. I then worked in the village, call at birth and go to the village – 5 kilometers through the forest. The woman herself can not come, she already gives birth. I only have one summer machine on board, and I travel with the driver for these births.

I look, the top of the head appears, I think I will take birth and take me home. "And I can not, we can not give birth, and what to do, I ask the driver, we pick up in the trees We did not put in the cabin, we bring it to our maternity. She was shaken in the woods on the bumps, and when we put her on the table, she gave birth to a boy weighing 4800 grams.Unually, children are born upside down and face Here would now be resuscitated, probably, and there it is incredible: I shook, shaken, swam in warm water, and all – healthy on the fifth day with my mother came home. [19659007] These are the situations we have.Now, in the village alone, I would not work, even though I have a lot of experience and that I can carry out any procedure.But I I am responsible for the life of a woman and a child, and God forbid, something will happen to them. n here, if anything, the child will survive. And there, what can I do?

– Why do you like your job?

– Sometimes it seems like I hate it ( smiles ). But all the same I really like it. Imagine a child born in my arms, a person sees the world with my hands!

Sometimes he can grab my finger or grab his umbilical cord, or put a pincer on it, squeeze it … And when it's applied to the chest he starts sucking at once.

– When you were studying, did you say that you had a talent for obstetrics?

– About the Slutsk Medical School they said that they were producing good paramedics and very bad midwives. . Midwives of our stream, only three people work in the nursery, and I am one of them. When I call one of my clbadmates, he asks, "How do you work in the maternity ward?" It's scary! Everyone is afraid of this.

I tried to leave my family and worked at the clinic for two years, but still took the watch to the hospital. Drawn. Apparently, it's my call.

The editors thank the organizers of the action "Maternity-Friendly Maternity House" for their help in preparing the material.