Signs and Wonders

A band aid solution

According to a report yesterday on the ABC midwives who provide homebirths have been given a reprieve that will allow them to practise legally until 2012. Australian health ministers have informed home birth Australia that additional requirements will be necessary for homebirth midwifes to access this exception.

 These requirements include

-  A requirement to provide full disclosure and informed consent that
they do not have professional indemnity insurance.

-  Reporting each homebirth

-  Participating in a quality and safety framework which will be
developed after consultation led by Victoria through the finalisation of the registration and accreditation process.

These provisions will only apply to midwives working in jurisdictions which do not prohibit such practice as at the date of the implementation of the scheme.

So what does this mean for women wanting a home birth?
 
The framework that midwives must abide by in order to be eligible for exemption from insurance is led by Victoria as Victoria currently leads the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme there is concern that Victoria maybe called on to lead the development of a framework within which private practice midwives will be required to work. Some members of Maternity Coalition and Australian Private Midwives Association recently attended a meeting with the Victorian Health Minister Daniel Andrews and they reportedthat "The Minister summarized the implications that the current Bills before parliament will have for women and midwives. He stated that midwives cannot continue uninsured as they are and that if they wanted to work it would need to be as part of a team at a public hospital providing homebirth".

He was asked whether he recognized the right of women to choose a place of birth and what they should do in the instance of July 2010 if the issue is not resolved, His answer "Well they will be faced with the difficult choice of choosing from what is available". This is totally unacceptable an only high lights the governments lack of understanding and disregard for pregnant women and those that choose to care for them at home. What the minister fails to see or acknowledge is that women will continue to birth at home but with out assistance and this cannot be in the best interest of mothers or their babies.

At the present time homebirth midwives and the families that they support have no insurance and no funding. Womenn who choose home birth are financially disadvantaged as they cover the financial burden of the birth themselves unlike their hospital delivered counterparts who's deliveries are covered by medicare and Private health care providers. As a mother of twelve children who has birthed in both private and public hospitals in two states and who has delivered her last three children at home with a private midwife I have personally felt the injustice of this system. All women should have access to an appropriately qualified and insured health care provider and be able to have the cost of that care receive the same level of funding regardless of were they choose to give birth. 

Welcome to the World

Damian Alphonsus

 

 

 

We joyously welcomed our twelfth child and seventh son into the world in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Damian weighed in at a petite 7lb 12oz and is 48cm long. More pictures to be posted soon.

 

 Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate. Ps 127:3-5

Private Midwifery and homebirth choices under threat

A woman's right to choose where and with whom to have her baby is currently under threat in Australia. The Australian government is set to pass legislation that would in effect make private midwifery illegal. Our twelfth child is due next week and we are planning our third home birth with a private midwife in attendance. For us home birth has been a positive and satisfying experience, not that our hospital births weren't positive.The seperation from our other children, the need for planning who they will be with and how we get them there was always stressful for me.

The United Nations Statement on the Rights of Women (1995) states that "Women have the right to have control over, and decide freely and responsibly on all matters relating to their sexual and reproductive health" What makes this legislation such a farce is that according to the above statement just few short months ago it was considered my right and my choice as to whether or not this baby lived. The termination of this pregnancy and thus the murder of this child had I desired and chosen it according to the united nations statement would have been my right. If this legislation is passed I would still have the right to murder my child I would not however have the right to chose where and with whom I give birth to that same child, more then a little ironic isn't it.

I would encourage all those who really care about a women's right to choose to sign this petition you can also find more information here and here

Our midwife checks on babies heart beat while Mike and the children look on. Gail is always very patient with the children answering their hundreds of questions about the babies size and development.

 

 

After listening to the baby Paddy get to hear his own heart beat he is convinced he has a baby horse in there.

 

Anthony loves to help out here he is cleaning the Doppler.