Minority of hospitals provide anaesthesia during labour

According to data by the Childbirth with Dignity Foundation (CDF), out of the 402 Polish hospitals in their database, a mere 256 of them were able to offer women anaesthesia in the final stages of labour.

This is in spite of a promise in 2012 by then-Health minister Bartosz Arłukowicz that every hospital will be able to provide free anaesthesia to women during childbirth.

The only region which is better than the national average, although only slightly better, according to Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, was the southern Polish voivodship of Silesia, where 24 of the 40 hospitals in the region had anaesthesia on hand in the labour ward.

“Not every woman wants to use this form of pain relief. However, many patients say that the mere possibility of asking for anesthesia gives them a sense of security,” Daria Omulecka from CDF told the daily. (rg)