President's Speech NotesPresident's Speech Notes
National Launch of the NMAP
Welcome to the launch of the National Maternity Action Plan. Thank you for coming.
I want to say a few words about the NMAP - about what, why and how.
I will then invite Senator Kerry Nettle to formally launch the Plan.
Each of our guest speakers will then be invited to make a brief comment about the Plan.
(What is the NMAP about?)
The National Maternity Action Plan (NMAP) is a blueprint for reform of Australia's maternity services.
It has been put together over the past year by women across Australia-women as mothers who have direct experience of how our maternity services work-and don't work.
The NMAP is all about choice for women. It calls on governments to give each Australian woman the choice of having her own midwife care for her throughout her pregnancy, labour and birth, and for the important first weeks of life with a new baby.
This type of care is called 'community midwifery'. Women can choose to give birth in hospital labour wards, birth centres or at home. Wherever they choose to be, they have their own midwife caring for them from early in pregnancy till after the birth of their baby.
Pregnancy and childbirth are not illnesses. They are normal and important life events for most women. But maternity services generally treat all pregnant women as medical disasters about to happen. This is not necessary or sensible.
Scientific research shows that one-to-one continuity of care from a known midwife is
There are 4 key reasons why reform of our maternity services is urgently needed.
1. (Intervention rates too high)
Rates of obstetric intervention in childbirth have risen markedly in Australia over the past 10 to 15 years. E.g:
-20% of babies is now born by caesarean section despite international consensus that no more than 10% babies should need caesarean sections.
-30% of women in public hospitals now have their labours induced or accelerated. And 50% of all women in private hospitals.
-20% of babies are pulled from their mothers with forceps or vacuum cups in public hospitals. 30% in private hospitals.
Medical intervention in childbirth is fine when it is needed. There's no doubt it can save the lives of some mothers and babies. But we now have way too much of a 'good thing'.
Every type of intervention has risks as well as benefits. Many interventions routinely used in our hospitals are not supported by research evidence. Yet fewer than 1 in every 5 healthy Australian women now give birth without at least one form of intervention.
It is no exaggeration to say that mothers and babies are suffering unnecessarily. Indeed the numbers of mothers dying from causes directly related to childbirth is on the increase.
2. (International best practise)
We don't need every woman to be given high tech maternity care to get good outcomes for mothers and babies. The OECD countries with the fewest maternal and infant deaths are those where midwives are the primary carers for most women.
Midwives are trained to identify any problems and refer women to obstetricians if needed.
Most women are healthy and are able to give birth to a healthy baby without medical complication.
Australian women are not any different from women in other advanced OECD countries.
3. (Lowers costs and risks)
One-to one midwifery care is cost effective. Midwives give women a lot more time for a lot less money with excellent clinical outcomes.
It's also lower risk, because midwives refer women with problem to appropriate specialists. Historically litigation of midwives has been almost non-existent.
4. (Choice)
Women in Australia can choose to have the birth of their baby induced to suit their work/leave plans. They can choose to have epidural anaesthesia. They can choose to have a caesarean section.
But 99% of pregnant women in Australia today can not choose to have a midwife they know care for them.
A majority of women go through the most intimate and intense experience of their lives in the company of strangers.
Widespread provision of community midwifery services as recommended by the NMAP will go a long way to addressing these problems:
We don't need to reinvent the wheel to provide community midwifery services across Australia. The NMAP outlines a highly successful program in Western Australia that already provides this care with excellent outcomes. Similar programs can and should be set up across Australia.
Every intervention in pregnancy and childbirth has risks as well as potential benefits. Every intervention increases the costs of maternity services. It's time to ask 'who benefits?' from the status quo. It's time to look for other ways to achieve safe and positive births for women and babies.
Community midwifery care on a one-to-one basis within the public health system is the answer.
In countries like the UK and New Zealand, where community midwifery is offered within the public health system, more than 70% of women choose a midwife to care for them.
Australian women demand - and deserve - this choice too.
The NMAP has been endorsed by
We collectively call on all governments-federal, state and territory-to implement the Plan.
I now call upon Senator Kerrie Nettle to officially launch the National Maternity Action Plan.
Thank you Senator Nettle.
Followed by brief statements from:
See the National Launch Report and a larger photo of the launch