MEDIA RELEASE
BRIDGING THE GAP: CITY AND BUSH PUSH FOR BETTER BIRTHS

Today 188* women and babies across the state will join the 'Bridging the Gap' rallies in Brisbane, Townsville, Mareeba and Stanthorpe to symbolise the number of babies born on the roadside last year in Queensland.

The women and babies will walk to 'bridge the gap' between the needs of women in rural, remote and Indigenous communities compared to their city cousins, and to bridge the gap between what families and women want from their birth care providers and what they currently receive. Thirty-six of Queensland's 84 public birthing facilities have closed in the past 10 years.

The mothers and babies, Maternity Coalition and other birthing groups, rural community groups, the Australian College of Midwives, Queensland Nurses' Union, the Rural Doctors' Association of Queensland and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine will call on the Queensland Government to endorse the recommendations of Re-Birthing* and to work with them to start improving the state's maternity care service.

Australia's lead maternity care consumer advocacy group, Maternity Coalition (Queensland) President, Bruce Teakle said, "It's not good enough that on average five women a week give birth on the side of a road or in a hospital with no birthing facilities in Queensland.

"We would like to see full and swift implementation of ALL the recommendations so women and their families are back where they belong - at the centre of their birth care services.

"A relatively small initial outlay by Queensland Government could dramatically improve the services offered to families in the short term as well a providing a range of significant longer term cost savings. A lot of it is about using the current resources - people, money, skills, knowledge - in a smarter way. It's important to Queensland's mothers and babies that this opportunity is not overlooked during the current sweeping changes that are now taking place in Queensland Health."

Friends of the Birth Centre President, Melissa Fox said, "Only one per cent of Queensland families get to start life with a known midwife and most of those families birth at one of Queensland's two public Birth Centres - at Brisbane and Mackay."

"More Birth Centres are planned for Gold Coast and Townsville families but we'd like to see more Birth Centres across Queensland so families have a real choice when deciding where and with whom they'd like to birth. This type of care need not be restricted to major regional centres and could provide real choices for women in rural communities."

Mareeba Mothers and Midwives Alliance President, Miranda Reis said, "For two months the Mareeba maternity unit has been operating as a midwife led unit providing exceptional care to expectant mothers in our local community. The model being used here could easily be rolled out across other rural areas in Queensland to provide sustainable and flexible solutions to the current rural shortage of maternity care. It has strong support from our local community and works closely with Cairns Base Hospital to provide great care to local women."

Home Midwifery Association Community Educator, Jodi Cleghorn said, "Although only a small minority of Queensland women get to birth at home, those of us who have, realise the importance of receiving post-birth care from a known and trusted carer. We are pleased Re-Birthing addresses the serious problems many women currently experience accessing good post birth care and sets out ways to better integrate post birth care into the birth continuum."

Childbirth Education Association (Brisbane) President, Sandiellen Black said, "For forty years our non profit group has been educating expectant families on birth and beyond. Independent information about birth choices is essential for women and their families because if you're not aware of your choices, you don't have any. Sadly, many Queensland women don't actually have any real choices when it comes to childbirth and we look forward to working with Government to improve this situation."

Ends

* Perinatal Data Collection, Queensland Health 2004 figures show 188 babies 'born before arrival'. Add to this the 81 women who in 2003 birthed their baby in a hospital in the local area with no birthing facilities (p21, Re-Birthing) and you have approx 260 babies born (approx five per week) each year not at their intended place of birth.

Re-Birthing was publicly released in May and will soon go to Cabinet. It can be downloaded from www.maternityservicesreviewqld.net.au/whatsnew.htm Re-Birthing highlighted three priorities for change including the need to improve rural maternity services, improve outcomes for Indigenous women and their babies, and to better integrate maternity care so women receive better post birth care.

Photo opportunities on Monday 3 October:

Brisbane Viewing platform in the middle of Goodwill Bridge. Meet at 11.20am for 11.30 start. About 80-100 mums and babies will walking across the bridge.
Townsville Nathan Street Bridge, Stockland side. Assemble at 8.30am for a 9.00am start. Rally of mums across bridge
Mareeba Arnold Park at 10.00am
Stanthorpe Library Park at 10.30am

For more information contact:
Joanne Smethurst, Maternity Coalition 3256 8127 or 0424 493 201 Jodi Cleghorn, Home Midwifery Association 3862 6262 or
0409 563 445
Melissa Fox, Friends of the Birth Centre, 3846 4664 or 0404 88 2716. Sandiellen Black, Childbirth Education Association (Brisbane) 3255 9272

Miranda Reis, Mareeba Mothers and Midwives Alliance, 4093 3041 Philippa Scott, Friends of the Birth Centre Townsville
07 4773 4075 or 0407 648 349.
Allison Gaffney, Stanthorpe, 4683 2888 or 0404 648 486

P.O. Box 1190
Blackburn North,
Victoria 3130
Australia