Hi Felicity
As I understand it the submissions and the hansard recording of the meetings
will be put up on the government website - I don't know how ling it takes
for this to happen.
Joy
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of Felicity Croker
Sent: Wednesday, 8 September 1999 16:50
To: Johnston; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: Senate Inquiry & Age
Joy,
Your response to the news item should hopefully clarify 'midwifery care'.
All the best with the Senate Inquiry.
Do you think it would be a useful resource to have the senate submissions
on the OzMid or ACMI websites? They are well researched and could provide a
useful resource to midwives and consumer groups seeking evidence based
information.
Cheers
Felicity
At 06:04 PM 09/07/1999 +1000, you wrote:
>Dear Sally and all
>I can't answer either of these questions.
>The Age medical reporter Victoria Button got a piece about the Inquiry into
>page 3 of today's paper (Tues). She gave particular focus to Jane Fisher's
>claims that caesareans are linked to an increased incidence in certain
>psychological disorders, and that subsequent pregnancies may reactivate
the
>condition.
>The article reported that:
>"The Australian College of Midwives called for a funding reform to allow
>midwifery at all births."
>
>I have written to Victoria Button with the following comment:
>
><This is not incorrect - but it is probably confusing to many readers. I
>will attempt to briefly explain why.
>
>All (or almost all) women giving birth in Australia probably do have
>midwifery care. The problem is that the woman (consumer) is not able, under
>current funding arrangements, to choose a midwife. Very few women are
>attended by a known midwife. The concept of partnership between each woman
>and her known midwife is central to the woman centred philosophy of
>midwifery. Birth is not an illness. A midwife is not a nurse.
>
>Funding for both public and private midwifery care is available only
through
>hospitals - which are controlled by doctors who do not understand midwifery
>care. Public funding for all births includes a 'medical' component, but the
>midwifery care is treated as part of the service. Antenatal care is
>frequently provided in the community by doctors, and the funding is through
>Federal government Medicare. Most of these doctors do not have anything to
>do with the birth. Those who are involved in the birth do so through the
>private hospital system, and rely on midwives to attend their clients
>through labour, and call them in time to catch the baby. Of course, if
there
>are complications, that specialist is called to provide expert care.
However
>there is evidence that the involvement of specialists as primary carers may
>indeed be a factor in increasing the likelihood of medical intervention.
>This is one of the main issues that the Senate committee is attempting to
>address.
>
>Ten years ago New Zealand changed from a system of hospital based maternity
>funding, similar to ours, to a system over which the woman has choice and
>control. The woman may choose a lead maternity carer, either a GP doctor, a
>specialist obstetrician, or a midwife, and this is covered by government
>funding. The committee was particularly interested in the changes in
>maternity care in New Zealand. A recent report quoted in our submission,
>Maternity Care Provider and Outcomes, NZCOM 1998, in which the perinatal
>mortality rate (number of babies who die) for births under a midwife lead
>maternity carer was 3.6/1000, compared with 11.5/1000 for GP/midwife
shared,
>and 14.9/1000 for O&G/Midwife shared, was given a lot of attention. This
>evidence suggests that it is extremely safe to choose midwifery care. The
>only midwives in our country who work with a similar degree of independence
>to our colleagues in NZ are homebirth midwives, and perhaps a few in birth
>centres.
>
>Women are eager to maintain control over their bodies and lives, especially
>at a time of personal intimacy such as the birth of a baby. You did not
stay
>for the presentation by Maternity Coalition, but I would encourage you to
>read their submission. I wish you every success in your efforts as a
medical
>reporter, that you will be objective, and present a true picture of the
>issues you address.
>
>Yours sincerely
>
>Joy Johnston>
>
>:
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Sally Tracy
> Sent: Tuesday, 7 September 1999 9:55
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: Senate Inquiry
>
>
> dear Joy
> many thanks for this briefing. I am going to represent AMAP on the 14th
>Sept in Sydney. I need some feedback on two points.
> a.. Does anybody have the latest reference for the spending on
>ultrasound technology as part of the maternity budget? I have several
>references but I want to be absolutely sure.......they all look so
>unbelievably high!
> a.. what constitutes 'early discharge' in the majority of practices? I
>have conflicting definitions to hand. And when is a woman eligible for
>visits by a community midwife, after discharge from hospital?
> Many thanks in anticipation
> sally
>
>
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>
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_--_|\,-- From Townsville ** Felicity Croker
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