Homebirth Awareness Week: Celebrate or Commiserate?

NEWS RELEASE

Monday October 26 2009

Contact: Justine Caines 0408210273


Homebirth Awareness Week: Celebrate or Commiserate?
Minister’s Weakness and Bureaucrats ignorance continues

This week marks Homebirth Awareness week. Homebirth Australia fears that this time next year Australian women will not have the option of homebirth.

“It is hard to understand the hysteria around homebirth in Australia. Our maternity hospitals are full to the brim, many of them churning women out conveyor belt style and yet this is considered safe, hardly! said Justine Caines Secretary of Homebirth Australia and mother of seven home born children.”

Mainstream Australian maternity care is not about women, women are rarely consulted in the development of services, they are the main player and yet they have been silenced by practitioners who insist they ‘know better’ said Ms Caines.

Homebirth on the other hand is different. Women make decisions about their care, they invite a midwife into their home, rather than be forced to meet the needs of practitioners and organisational convenience which happens when giving birth in a hospital” said Ms Caines

“The outcomes from homebirth are also considerably better*. Women experience more personalised care and fewer interventions, they also enter motherhood happier and more content.” said Ms Caines

Something that is considered a normal reasonable choice in the U.K, The Netherlands, New Zealand, and Canada is under threat of extinction in Australia. Bureaucrats advising the Minister do not even understand homebirth and they refuse to seek information from key stakeholders

“Asking an Obstetrician about homebirth is like seeking advice from a midwife on caesarean surgery.” said Ms Caines

“Health Minister Nicola Roxon plans to fund midwifery care under Medicare, something sorely needed. She has however excluded homebirth. She did this against all evidence and the express wishes of the women of Australia across two enquiries, one that broke a Senate record on the number of submissions received.” said Ms Caines

The question remains; Will politicians continue to be more responsive to those with deep vested interest in maternity services? It is time to step up and listen to women, the very people for whom these so called reforms are proposed.” asked Ms Caines


Also see previous posts:
More irrefutable evidence

Safe Maternity Care

Homebirths in Victoria 2007

A BREECH IN THE SYSTEM

* VICTORIAN PREMIER SCREENING *

Maternity Coalition Movie Night THURSDAY, 5th November, 2009

Annual Report 2009

This is the brief annual report, presented to the BaBS AGM today. A financial report was also presented, and is available for members.

If you are involved in BaBS groups, and would like to support BaBS at an organisational level by becoming a member, please speak to one of the facilitators or midwives, or leave a message at this blog, and a membership form and other information will be emailed to you.


ANNUAL REPORT 2009
BaBS INCORPORATED

Report of the Association for the Annual General Meeting 28 September 2009


Since the inaugural meeting of BaBS Inc 6 August 2008, the committee has provided management and oversight of the association.

In November 2008 the committee accepted, with regret, the resignation of Erika Munton from the role of National Coordinator. Erika continued as a committee member, and as a facilitator of the Croydon BaBS group.

Erika has been an inspirational leader in BaBS, and the committee thank Erika for her dedication and skill in the past three years in the development of BaBS. Erika’s shoes have been difficult to fill. Other committee members have acted as they have been able in her absence.

Financial matters have been competently managed by the Treasurer, Tabitha Melgalvis. An ABN (Australian Business Number) has been accessed, and it appears on the association’s letterhead. A bank account has been opened with the Community Banking Sector (Bendigo Bank). BaBS Incorporated has been registered with the Australian Tax Office as a tax exempt body.

BaBS groups meet regularly at various locations. In some instances groups have ceased when the availability of facilitators has changed. The groups (in alphabetical order) have been facilitated at Albury NSW, Bayside Vic, Box Hill Vic, Casey Vic, Croydon Vic, Ferntree Gully Vic, Macedon Vic, Stanthorpe Qld, Sunshine Coast Qld, Ipswich Qld, Wagga Wagga NSW, and Wangaratta Vic. Some of the groups have continued under the management of Maternity Coalition, while others, particularly those in Victoria, report to BaBS Inc.

BaBS groups rely on leadership from mothers and midwives in communities. In the past six months there has been an unexpected and unprecedented threat to the future of private midwifery practice in Australia as a result of legislative reforms. BaBS has been supported by midwives in private practice, and this threat to their ability to continue practising has diverted much energy and availability.

BaBS continues to provide peer support groups for mothers in their communities, seeking to enable new mothers and pregnant women to increase their control over, and to improve, their health in pregnancy and birthing, and in the nurture of their babies.

Joy Johnston
Acting National Coordinator

Assisted reproduction technology in Australia and New Zealand 2007

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has released a new report:

Assisted reproduction technology in Australia and New Zealand 2007
In 2007, there were 56,817 assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment cycles undertaken in Australian and New Zealand. Of these cycles, 17.4% resulted in a live delivery (the birth of at least one liveborn baby). In total, 10,856 liveborn babies were born following ART treatment undertaken in 2007. The most important recent trend in ART treatment has been the reduction in the rate of twins and triplets births, with the multiple delivery rate falling from 18.7% in 2003 to 10.0% in 2007. This trend has been associated with an increase in the proportion of ART treatment cycles using single embryo transfer, from 32.0% in 2003 to 63.7% in 2007.


Click on the link to view the media release and report.

BaBs Clota Cottage - end of Term 3 picnic photos

Breech pregnancy and birth survey

Any mother who has experienced breech pregnancy and or birth research is invited to participate in an online study to look more closely at women's experience with breech birth and pregnancy. The researchers are interested in knowing how women feel about breech pregnancies and the choices available to them.

For more information, go to the survey

Birth choices important to mothers

The following pic and article appear at the website of Fran Bailey, Member for the Victorian seat of McEwen.




Birth choice important to mothers

Monday, 10 August 2009

Mothers in rural and regional areas should be allowed to give birth at home under new maternal health laws, said member for McEwen Fran Bailey after a meeting in Gisborne.

Fran met mothers from across the Macedon Ranges and adjoining regions concerned that the Federal Government was out of step with overseas acceptance of home birth.

"I believe that every women has the right to make an informed choice on where to give birth to their baby," Fran said.

"It is a tragedy that the maternal services review now before the Federal Government could deny mothers any choice.

"The real fear is that Australia is taken backwards in its attitudes to births in hospitals and in the home and this particularly disadvantages expectant mothers in our local communities."

Fran spoke with members of the Macedon Ranges Babs (Birthing and Babies Support) Group to hear their concerns about the Government’s plan on birth choices.

"These mothers and midwives are so passionate about being able to give birth at home, sometimes at great financial cost to themselves," Fran said.

"But without professional indemnity insurance for midwives and an acceptance by the Government that expectant mothers can choose to have a natural birth, there will be an even greater demand on the public health system."

Fran told the meeting that their concerns would be raised with the Government and Senators who will shortly consider legislation on maternal services.

A further meeting with mothers from the Yarra Ranges will be held in Healesville on Friday August 14