At the close of business on the last Friday before Monday's homebirth protest rally, news broke that the Australian government is planning to permit homebirth midwives to continue practicing until June 2012 instead of June 2010. One article states:
Nicola Roxon, the health minister was quoted as saying:"But following a meeting of state and territory health minister's in Canberra today, federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon announced a two year exemption from holding indemnity insurance for privately practising midwives who can't obtain cover for attending a homebirth. To take advantage of the exemption, homebirthing midwives will be required to tell women they are not insured, report each homebirth they attend and participate in a quality and safety framework which will be developed after consultations led by the Victorian Government."
"We have a process to be able to work further on protocols that would either bring more homebirthing services into our public system or potentially open the way in the future for an insurance product to be extended to cover them," she said. "This two year exemption allows plenty more time for those protocols to be established and worked on."
The timing of this newsbreak was not lost on jounralist, Bonny Symons-Brown who noted:
"The move comes as thousands of women prepare to gather at Parliament House on Monday to demand Government funding and insurance for homebirthing."
I suspect this move has been made now so that the politicians questioned during media coverage of the protest rally can dismiss any negative press by providing a few throw-away lines about having two additional years to talk about it (as indeed, Ms Roxon has already, see above).
While an additional two years of legal homebirth midwifery is great news it is pertinent to remember that homebirthers and their midwives should not be in this situation at all! Hospital birthers have no clock ticking down on their birth choice.
As always I remain skeptical about the vague terms used by the health minister regarding the conditions for allowing legal homebirth midwifery in Australia. What precisely is a "quality and safety framework" and who defines and monitors it? It is worth noting that homebirth midwives already fully disclose their lack of insurance and homebirths are reported (in Victoria the homebirth midwife is one of the officials who signs the birth registration!).
Finally, Australian homebirthers may find ourselves in a far worse situation than we were before last years maternity services review, as the health minister talks about setting protocols for a public system of homebirthing. "Protocols" set by governments in collaboration with the obstetric lobby for a "public system of homebirthing" will mean no homebirth for breech babies, women who have had caesareans, women who are deemed overweight, too old, their babies too big etc. etc. etc. (for more on where that could leave us click here).
More time might seem like a blessing, but when the government refuse to acknowledge the real issues (obstetric monopoly of maternity care vs women's birth rights and autonomy for midwives) it doesn't matter how much time we have, no good will come. I continue to protest because I have a sliver of hope that at some point in the future my government will choose to listen to mothers/consumers.
To read the article quotes above in full click here.
For more on this see:
Independent Midwives Granted a Brief Reprieve But Watch The Catch - Hoyden About Town
Two Year Exemption From Indemnity Insurance Announced Today - Private Midwifery Services
Exemption - Midwife Mutiny
Exemption 2 - Midwife Mutiny
As always I remain skeptical about the vague terms used by the health minister regarding the conditions for allowing legal homebirth midwifery in Australia. What precisely is a "quality and safety framework" and who defines and monitors it? It is worth noting that homebirth midwives already fully disclose their lack of insurance and homebirths are reported (in Victoria the homebirth midwife is one of the officials who signs the birth registration!).
Finally, Australian homebirthers may find ourselves in a far worse situation than we were before last years maternity services review, as the health minister talks about setting protocols for a public system of homebirthing. "Protocols" set by governments in collaboration with the obstetric lobby for a "public system of homebirthing" will mean no homebirth for breech babies, women who have had caesareans, women who are deemed overweight, too old, their babies too big etc. etc. etc. (for more on where that could leave us click here).
More time might seem like a blessing, but when the government refuse to acknowledge the real issues (obstetric monopoly of maternity care vs women's birth rights and autonomy for midwives) it doesn't matter how much time we have, no good will come. I continue to protest because I have a sliver of hope that at some point in the future my government will choose to listen to mothers/consumers.
To read the article quotes above in full click here.
For more on this see:
Independent Midwives Granted a Brief Reprieve But Watch The Catch - Hoyden About Town
Two Year Exemption From Indemnity Insurance Announced Today - Private Midwifery Services
Exemption - Midwife Mutiny
Exemption 2 - Midwife Mutiny
1 comments:
these gov't scrutiny ideas to see if homebirth is safe are entirely wrong headed. Could we please see some gov't scrutiny of the safety of each and every birth in the hospital. THAT is where the maternal deaths are occurring. THAT is where the babies and mothers come out traumatized and broken. It's insulting to ask homebirth midwives to report about private matters in people's homes.
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