Midwife-led care push for Oz

Posted: 12 June 2012 by Rob Dabrowski

The news comes as a Monash University review states midwives are as safe as doctors for low-risk births.

Western Australia has one of the highest CS rates in the world and homebirth supporters are pushing for a UK-style service.

In a new campaign, midwives and supporters will pile pressure on the region’s health minister Kim Hames and her colleagues.

Childbirth educator Pip Wynn Owen said because many women have private health insurance they opt hotel-type hospitals with a private room and their own doctor.

She continued that this results in CS deliveries being treated like ‘bread and butter’ cases, when doctors should be focusing on ‘abnormal pregnancies’.

A private midwife, who moved from the UK to Australia five years ago, has spoken out against the medicalisation of birth in the country.

She said that homebirth is ‘made out to be odd’ when it is the ‘gold standard’ of care.

She added that she believes there is a lot of ‘sinister fear’ created around birth by the medical profession.