Three days of contractions. You read that right: three days! This Thursday at three o’clock in the morning, Sarah Cacoub gave birth to little Louna at the hospital in Antibes. And if the words of encouragement from Félix, his darling, have surely helped him, it is above all the news “nature room” maternity, reserved for the pre-labor phase, which relieved her.
Inaugurated this Thursday, this physiological room is offered free of charge to women who wish to give birth more naturally, without an epidural – or not. Inside, with subdued lighting and the possibility of putting on music, hanging vines and a ball allow expectant mothers to stretch and relieve their legs.
Sarah Cacoub and Felix Gravel were able to enjoy the nature room for two nights before the arrival of their little Louna.Photo E.M..
A bath to ease the pain
Next to a wide bench to favor all kinds of positions, a relaxation bathtub “is used to reduce the pain of contractions thanks to the heat”, says Dr Laurence Debono, head of department. A few hours following giving birth, Sarah nods: “I was able to spend two nights in the bath, only here I was able to sleep a little. By being in the water, we put ourselves in our bubble, we meditate and we come to better accept the pain. It saved me!”
Break with the medical cold
Like her, one patient a day uses this cocooning place “which breaks with the cold medicalized side of the hospital”. The price for this new equipment? 50,000 euros, including 25,000 subsidized by the Fondation des Hôpitaux de Paris. A project which is part of the enormous general modernization project of the hospital for 2030 and which is added to the embellishment of the sixteen rooms of the maternity ward by the end of the year. Parquet on the floor, new paintwork… To give birth (almost) like at home.
