Comments on: Maternity services turf wars have not helped women

By: robyn thompson

robyn thompson — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Where would Australian women be if it wasn't for the wonderful women campaigners and leaders like Justine Caines?

A true blue Aussie who speaks out for justice for all women. A leader with strength and credibility and most of all personal experience and knowledge about a system that has been ground to a halt in this country. Controlled by greed, power and domininace of one medical profession.

If Nicola Roxon is true to her word it is time for change, time for the medical profession to take a look at where their skills are genuinely required. It's time for the Medicare system to be revived so that medicine does not soley own and control the health system. It's time to recognise the value of other skilled practitioners, such as Midwives, Nurses and Maternal and Child Health Nurses to Australian Society.

It is also time to realise that some women and midwives do work together in a private arrangement, they should not be excluded because unavailable Professional Indemnity globally. The Northern Territory actually prevents midwives from practising with women privately because of legilsation dictates PI "must" be available. Imagine if the same principle was applied to the medical profession, pharmacy , dental and others. Would these groups accept it as a fete au comple?

Thanks Justine for being the voice of millions of Australians. The Maternity Coalition started with some dedicated women and midwives when Birthing in Victoria became intolerable. Justine later lead Maternity Coalition into a new era and persisted in making MC the leading Australian consumer group. Now she leads an emerging Political Party - "What Women Want" - into another new era.

Without the Justine Caines of this country with her ability to lead the voice of women and others disatisfied with Australian Maternity services, women would continue to be dominated by the medical profession and their strong hold on the Medicare system.

By: Katrina Flora

Katrina Flora — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Finally the truth is being told about our appalling maternity services. Other voices are being heard. Our system has long been about power, vested financial interests, hierarchy and status. Giving midwives true autonomy with prescribing rights, medicare funding and insurance to practice will revolutionise birth in this country. Bring it on!!!!!

By: Liz Wilkes

Liz Wilkes — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

It is amazing to think that woman might actually have a choice in their maternity care after all this time. Women in our regional area often say that they are asked by their GP when they are pregnant whether they have private insurance, in which case they are just given a referal to the local private hospital where c/s rates are rumoured to be above 60% or if they don’t they have public care and see their GP and any number of different doctors in the public hospital. To be able to have real choice to have a known midwife will be amazing! Lets hope this review really enables the change to happen.

By: Denise Hynd

Denise Hynd — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

I am an Australain midwife working in New Zealand as I cannot care for women and babies as evidence and physiology says i should in my own country but I remain hopefull that one day soon - thanks to Nicola Roxon I maybe accord the rights, support and access to do as Justine Caines explains.

By: virginia maddock

virginia maddock — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Well done Justine for your tireless efforts in raising the issues of maternity reform. I am 23 weeks pregnant and planning a homebirth which will cost me over $4000 - money which, if midwifery were publically funded (as it is in NZ), could be better spent on the costs of raising my child and keeping me out of the workforce longer for the numerous benefits of breastfeeding and fulltime mothering. Keep up the good work!

By: Judy Chapman

Judy Chapman — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Good on you Justine. It is beyond belief how the voices of both the scientific evidence and women are so totally ignored by the AMA and politicians. There is sooooo much evidence out there as to the safety of low risk women birthing with midwives and the fact that a large proportion of women want that, so WHY ARE WE STILL WAITING FOR IT. I believe that the charges of independant midwives are less than the public, let alone private, pregnancy, birth and postnatal care and stil women and medicare are rorted.
I hope Nicola Roxon succeeds with her endeavour to change the status quo.

By: Maree Nolan

Maree Nolan — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

When having my first child, the only choice I was aware of was that between public and private, so I ended up in the hospital system (read cattle yards). By the time I was pregnant with my third, I was desperate for a home-birth, but could not find a private midwife witin 6 hours of where I lived. So my choices were still limited. To give women real choice in birth, the maternity system needs to allow women access to a range of care options and provide information on what those options are, as well as ensuring midwives have the support and insurance needed to provide some of these options. I don’t understand how one woman’s unneccessary, expensive c-section can be publicly funded while the waiting list for other surgeries is huge, but another woman’s safer, less costly home-birth or midwife-attended birth cannot. Here’s hoping Nicola Roxon sees the evidence supporting alternatives to the hospital system and finally enables real choice in our maternity system.

By: Caroline McCullough

Caroline McCullough — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

It’s outrageous that women choosing private midwifery care have to pay $4000 + out of pocket with no government assistance whatsoever. The only way we could afford this is to pay it out of the baby bonus and if the government scraps that we are royally screwed. Maternity care funding that follows women’s choices sounds terrific. I hope the government makes it a reality to give women access to a range of options and not just one option in two different systems — ie. public and private.

By: Yvette Langmaid-Buttery

Yvette Langmaid-Buttery — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

This is great news Justine; I hope some positive reform goes ahead. After 3 successful natural births with midwife care only, I fell kicking and screaming into the system when my twins were born, and was statistically extremely lucky not to have had a C section. I had very little choice available to me despite private health insurance. I applaud people such as yourself speaking out about this issue.