The miracle of childbirth: Gautinger midwife also looks after newborns at Christmas

Created: 12/25/2021, 5:05 PM

Passionate midwife: Sabine Knape.

© Andrea Jaksch

"I always find it nice when I can be present at the birth and give the child a good start in the environment in which it will live," says Sabine Knape.

Even at Christmas, when the world celebrates the birth of Christ, Sabine Knape looks after women who give birth to their children at home on this day.

Hausen - Right now, in times of pandemic, the demand for home births has increased enormously, says the experienced midwife Sabine Knape. The wife of the Green Councilor Hans-Wilhelm Knape runs her midwifery practice in her own house with a garden in Hausen. It's not that easy to get to and mostly on the go. “I'm waiting for two births now,” she says on the phone on the way to a birth in Landshut. Another woman who looks after her “has an appointment on Boxing Day”. But it is well known that children do not adhere to the calculated dates when they are born. That is why it can happen that she is called “from one birth to the next” on a single day, explains the midwife.

“My wildest night was when I was called to Dachau for a birth at 4:30 in the morning: When I was still on the autobahn, the next call came from Augsburg. It was very lucky that the first home birth in Dachau went without complications, ”Knape remembers. So she was in Augsburg in time for the next two births. "Back then, I gave birth to three children between 5.30 and 12.30." In Augsburg, however, she got a colleague to support her, says Knape. Because they have a catchment area of ​​100 kilometers. That's why she works in a team with four colleagues. "If couples so wish, we can also give birth in pairs," emphasizes Knape.

“Pregnant women who give birth to me must also come to me for preventive care,” says the midwife. She does not only offer postpartum care. Because then she would have to complete the home visits paid for by the health insurance companies every 20 minutes so that her commitment pays off. For postpartum care after home births, however, she takes more time than the 20 minutes estimated by the health insurers. “Because I see myself as a family midwife,” says Knape. For example, if a mother who has just given birth suddenly has a congestion while breastfeeding, ask her: “Why are you not feeling well?” Many infants and children liked to sleep in bed with their parents. But if the grandmother then warns: “You will never get him out of your bed”, that unsettles you. Basically, she encourages women in what they do."So that they can trust themselves."

In these times in particular, it is important for the woman to have the child father by her side. Because this is often not possible in some clinics because of the risk of infection, more and more couples are opting for home births. Due to the great demand, the “Quality Assurance in Home Birth Assistance” has “insured 100 more midwives” this year, says Sabine Knape.

Nine of her ten grandchildren were also born at home with her as a midwife.

On Boxing Day 2013, Knape looked after her daughter during the complication-free delivery of her second child, the now eight-year-old Enya.

And Knape has also experienced a “Christ Child”: twelve years ago, the midwife supported a woman giving birth on the morning of December 24th.

The child was there quite suddenly.

"The father stated: Oh, it's Christmas Eve today: We always have to celebrate our child's birthday." Cc