NATIONAL MATERNITY ACTION PLAN LAUNCH IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The launch of the NMAP in SA was a successful event for a number of reasons.

Our launch was in the Balcony Room in Parliament House. We had seating ready for 50 people with space for prams and people to stand behind the chairs. Light refreshments including tea and coffee were provided by Sandra Kanck (Australian Democrats) and some Wise Women.

MEDIA COVERAGE
There were press interviewing our guest speakers, organisers, midwives and women before and after the launch. There were people being interviewed and photographed in two or three places at once. There were photographs taken on the steps of Parliament House. One beautiful photograph of Jacob with his mum Alex Emmerich on the steps of Parliament House was published in the Advertiser the following day with a short story about the launch. The article by Jill Pengelley quoted the supportive words of both Alex Emmerich and Sandra Kanck.

On the Sunday prior to the launch the Sunday Mail ran a two page story about issues the National Maternity Action Plan supports, particularly the lack of indemnity insurance for women who choose to birth at home and the impact this has had on the waiting list for the Women's and Children's Hospital (WCH) Birthing Centre. Roz Donnellan-Fernandez, Maureen Germein, Christine Holliday, Simone Vinall and Gillian Trudgen were featured in words and pictures. Journalist Brad Crouch, informed readers about the launch with these words:
A national maternity action plan will be launched at South Australia's Parliament House by midwives and obstetricians at 1pm on Tuesday.
The plan calls for the introduction of a midwife-led care model for the public sector,....
We were on ABC radio, Radio Adelaide, 5AN and 891FM.

Cathy Jacobs and Kate Dorsey from Channel Seven arranged a news segment on the Channel Seven News, with a promo playing for 24 hours prior to the news segment. The promo had me, as a woman with a radical plan to take birthing away from hospitals. The news segment covered continuity of carer with a known midwife as a key concept. Brian Peat Head of Obstetrics at WCH talked about the potential for continuity of carer to bring improvement in job satisfaction for midwives, as well as women feeling better about their birth experiences. Then Wendy Thornton, an independent midwife, spoke of birthing belonging to the woman. The segment ended with Kate Dorsey referring to continuity of midwifery care as best practice maternity care.

A comment from a friend about the Seven News report was how good it is to have the WCH Obstetric dept support a plan to give birthing back to women.

On the Friday night after the launch, Stateline on Channel Two also presented a segment about the National Maternity Action Plan. They began by talking about mothers and babies taking over Parliament House. Throughout the report there were images of many parents, babies and children belonging to our network of wise women and other supporters. Next was an explanation of the NMAP as proposing changes to the ways expectant women are treated by the public health system. Trudy M'Conville spoke as a mother of five about her hospital birthing experiences and how they were taken over by the medical staff. She talked about feeling like a piece of meat, in the intimidating hospital setting, amidst the changing faces of her carers. Trudy told about the birth of her fifth child, with the care of a known and trusted midwife through the Northern Women's Community Midwifery Programme, and how she was able to birth this child naturally and safely after 4 previous caesarean sections.

Next was a segment with Sandra Kanck referring to statistics of obstetric intervention that do not fit with the World Health Organisation recommended levels of intervention for safe birthing. Brian Peat then spoke about the introduction of the continuity of carer programme about to start at the WCH, that will ensure mothers and midwives are more satisfied by birthing experiences. This was followed by Anne Brooks, a midwife from the Northern Women's Community Midwifery Programme, talking of the success of their programme. She also mentioned the 15% of women who chose to birth at home with midwives from the programme.

Sandra Kanck commented about how the National Maternity Action Plan proposals would be good for women and their babies as well as saving the government a great deal of money. The Stateline story ended with Trudy M'Conville saying all women should be able to choose the type of maternity care they want.??

Since the NMAP launch, I received an email from a Channel 10 journalist, expressing interest in NMAP and apologising that she was on leave when the NMAP press releases were received in her office. I am sure we will find a suitable NMAP related story to interest her in the near future.

THE LAUNCH
The first of our Guest Speakers was the Honorable Sandra Kanck MLC (Australian Democrats) who spoke about the need for more midwifery led care in SA. Sandra also spoke about the right of all women to the best maternity care and declared her support for the National Maternity Action Plan.

Judy Brown, Deputy Director International Confederation of Midwives, gave an international perspective to the NMAP. She spoke strongly in support of the National Maternity Action Plan. Judy talked about the need for midwives, obstetricians and GPs to work together to provide what women want, as we implement the models of care proposed by the plan.

Trudy McConville, a consumer of midwifery care and proud mother of 5 beautiful children spoke of her personal experiences of birthing, highlighting the value of birthing with a known midwife. She spoke about the difference between her 4 caesarean section experiences in hospitals and normal birth of her 5th child with a known midwife. The trusting relationship between Trudy and her midwife enabled her to confidently and most successfully birth her child the way women were designed to birth.

Roz Donnellan-Fernandez is a self-employed community midwife and an outstanding spokesperson for midwifery. Roz highlighted the issue of equity of access to choose affordable continuous midwifery care:
Currently less than 1 % of women nationally are able to access these models. There is only 1 public funded model of midwifery continuity of carer in this state, and that is specific to families residing in the Northern Suburbs of Adelaide.
She went on to talk about structural changes to our health system that would facilitate continuity of midwifery carer models being the norm in Australia.

We were delighted to have Dr Brian Peat, Director of Obstetrics at the Women's and Children's Hospital, in Adelaide speak to us, about how the National Maternity Action Plan can be implemented. Brian spoke about women having more satisfaction with their birthing experiences when they birth with a known midwife. He also spoke about how important it is to continue to push for reform to the health system, in order to implement more women centred midwifery led maternity services in South Australia. He reminded us that the Women's and Children's Hospital Case Load Practice is soon to begin and will offer the type of care promoted by the NMAP.

Anne Brooks is a midwife from the very successful Northern Women's Community Midwifery Programme, in Elizabeth. Anne and her midwifery colleagues from the community midwifery programme provide the type of midwifery care recommended in the NMAP. She spoke about the professional satisfaction birthing with women in the Community Midwifery Programme providing continuity of carer.

Our final speaker is a senior lecturer in midwifery from the University of South Australia, Heather Hancock. She spoke about the Importance of the NMAP to graduates of the new Bachelor of Midwifery offered by Uni of SA and Flinders Uni, who are training to be midwives not nurse-midwives. Heather also urged to keep the momentum of the NMAP launch going and to continue lobbying for midwifery led, women centred care.

Sandra Kanck then untied the purple ribbon from the National Maternity Action Plan and declared it launched to energetic applause and a standing ovation from the crowd.

We have strong political support from Sandra Kanck (Australian Democrats) and Frances Bedford (Australian Labor Party). Diana Laidlaw (Liberal) also attended the launch. We received apologies from a number of State MPs.

THE CROWD
As already mentioned we had fifty chairs ready for the launch, which catered for about half the people who attended. Midwives, mothers with bountiful pregnant bellies, expectant fathers, supportive male partners, children, toddlers and babes in arms filled the Balcony Room and spilled into the adjoining room. All supporters of the National Maternity Action Plan and the changes that need to be made to Maternity care provision in this state and across our nation.

Sandra Kanck's press release about the NMAP stated that babies and toddlers were welcome at Parliament House and come they did. There were prams and strollers everywhere. Mothers and fathers held their children on their shoulders at the back of the room so they could see. Babies quietly breast-fed while their mothers listened to our guest speakers.

Thankyou to all who came to the NMAP launch and to those who were unable to attend but are supportive of the NMAP.

We made an impression leading up to the NMAP launch, on the day and for the rest of the week. Now it is time for us to bring together our strategies to continue to promote the National Maternity Action Plan and best practice midwifery care models.

Cheryl Glenie
M.Ed., B.Ed., Dip.T.
ACMI(SA) Midwifery Advocate 2000
October 9th, 2002