Australian Private Midwives Association: Disrespect and abuse of women in childbirth

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Disrespect and abuse of women in childbirth

Rally outside AMA House in Melbourne

We would like to hear stories from women and midwives who have encountered disrespect and/or abuse in maternity care.

Many anecdotal accounts are available. Many women and midwives wrote their stories in submissions to the Australian government's Maternity Services Review.

Two well known academics in the field of women's studies have asked that midwives and mothers who are willing to share their stories contact them. This is not, at this stage, funded research. The aim is to make up a collection of accounts that demonstrate issues of women's autonomy and rights in birthing - as both birthgivers and the women workers who care for them. These accounts will be useful in presentations to human rights advocates, and women's health networks.

If you would like your story considered for this project, please send a message to Joy [joy@aitex.com.au].

Click here to read of the US

WHO ARE WE?

The Australian Private Midwives Association represents midwives in private practice. The association is focused on the safety of women, the ability of women to access quality midwifery care across Australia and the partnerships between women and midwives. APMA supports women’s choice in maternity options within a framework of quality and safety and believes in women being able to access midwives in all settings. APMA unites all midwives seeking to provide continuity of care for women.

APMA strives to provide midwives in private practice with information relevant to their practice and advocacy in the political process.

Enquiries:
Joy Johnston joy@aitex.com.au
Marie Heath NSW and National 0407 266004
Clare Lane (Vic) 0416 130219

APMA POSITION STATEMENT on PLANNED HOME BIRTHS WITH A MIDWIFE

1. We support home birth with a midwife in attendance for women who have uncomplicated labours. 2. We support and adopt the International Confederation of Midwives’ (ICM) Definition of the Midwife (2011), which is foundational to all midwifery practice, including homebirth. 3. We support the right of every woman to access a midwife as the primary maternity caregiver who works in partnership with the woman throughout the episode of care, who is able to be the responsible professional in attendance at the birth either at home or hospital, and who is able to make appropriate referral and transfer of care when required. 4. We support the right of a midwife to practise privately in a fee-for-service or funded relationship with the client, or to take up employment. 5. We support only those regulatory restrictions that are able to pass the ‘public interest’ test: “How does this promote health and wellbeing in the mother and baby?” 6. We support an expectation of equity, including equal pay for equal work throughout a midwife’s scope of practice. Midwives who provide primary maternity care are entitled to the same public funding, the same opportunity to charge a fee-for-service, the same access to hospital referral, and publicly supported indemnity insurance, as medical practitioners providing the same maternity services. 7. We support processes by which midwives are able to gain experience and mentoring in order to commence and demonstrate competence in homebirth practice. 8. We support seamless and reliable processes by which midwives are able to make hospital bookings for women planning homebirth, and arrange transfer to the hospital in a timely way when needed.