In a message dated 7/07/01 12:30:35 PM AUS Eastern Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< The article was titled "Home births in peril as midwives lose insurance
cover". It keeps sending out that same message about fear, danger and
litigation around birth.
What do homebirth midwives intend to do??
Sue Cookson
Homebirth Australia
>>
Hi all ozmider's.
This situation distresses me greatly. As I see it, the problem is the huge
lack of recognition and respect for midwifery as an autonomous profession,
which I believe has far reaching implications for ALL women and midwives -
not just MIPP and the homebirth community. The homebirth movement here is
still considered a radical, questioning and an independent movement outside
of medical control and its always been a thorn in the obstetric side and
subject to a great deal of attention, scrutiny and anticompetitive behaviour.
Historically we know that many of the improvements in maternity care have
been born from the homebirth movement. So for all other midwives to then hide
their heads in the sand on this issue and to shrug it off as something that
only affects homebirth midwives and their clients is a HUGE mistake.
Homebirth needs to exist for the benefit of ALL, not just the few that choose
it, because out of this movement we have another model by which to compare
the obstetric model, and measures by which to demand greater accountability
from medical men and their machines and evidence for continued improvements
for mainstream maternity care. Once you recognise this it becomes apparent
that the withdrawal of professional indemnity insurance from MIPP is just the
tip of the iceberg and actually represents the largest assault on the
autonomy of midwifery this country has seen and THIS THEN AFFECTS ALL
MIDWIVES AND ALL WOMEN - NOT JUST THE HOMEBIRTH COMMUNITY.
Midwives please open your eyes and look 'outside of the square you live in'
and see the bigger picture !!! By insurers denying/refusing to insure
midwives in private practice, is to effectively, slam the door shut on
midwifery as an autonomous profession in this country, relegating midwifery
to be forever controlled by the medical fraternity. This has ripple effects
into EVERY other facet of midwifery practice. It will eventually effect EVERY
MIDWIFE in her capacity to work as a midwife 'with woman' as it effectively
undermines EVERY midwife's status and claim to autonomous practice as the
health care professional that she is, irrespective of where she provides
midwifery care. Further more, while the majority of midwives may work in
hospitals and have their liability underwritten by state governments, many
midwives also choose to have PI outside of this as well - independent of
their employers interests! So to argue that this is an issue that just
effects 80 midwives and the 1% of women who choose to birth at home in this
country is just ridiculous and will surely then see the demise of midwifery
in this country.
This issue needs to be brought to the forefront and dealt with once and for
all. The ACMI needs to gather ALL its constituents together with their
greatest allies - women - and demand to be heard in the halls of parliament,
news and media until the powers that be listen and cotton on to the great
conspiracy that is denying Australian women and their families the right to
choose for themselves how, where and with whom they birth their children.
Furthermore, midwives need to put their money where their mouths are and get
serious about their professional representation. This is not meant to be a
criticism of the ACMI as it stands, but rather to say that, it can only do so
much with the resources and limited personnel that it has. The College needs
funds to invest in a good lawyer who can research these issues from the point
of law and justice, and funds to undertake through risk analysis of providing
midwifery care. How can the College continue to argue for what is right and
just - without the evidence to support it. Insurance companies would find it
difficult to refuse policy applications or charge outrageous premiums, if the
evidence was there in black and white to sink their arguments that midwifery
is "a highly litigious area". The College should be demanding proof of that
statement by David Brown, general manager of Guild Insurance and if not
provided, then suing for defamation of the midwifery profession.
OK OK I can hear you all now saying "wow Tina's really lost the plot this
time". But how can powerful institutions keep getting away with slandering
midwives and their profession without calls to put up or shut up. Christ, the
AMA president Karen Phelps hits the Federal Health Minister Michael Woolridge
with a threat of legal action after he questions her qualifications to
practice medicine and its front page news in every newspaper and TV channel
in this country, right down to their menu and dessert choices at their even
more publicly viewed reconciliatory luncheon !!!!
What a crock !!
Part of the way to finding an answer has to be for ALL midwives to rally
together for the sake of their professional wellbeing and for that of the
women they serve and to support each other and DEMAND a better deal. The SMH
reports that there are some 70000 midwives in Australia with about 20 odd
thousand practising. Well where are you all ??? I can't hear you. I can't see
you. The ACMI would be lucky to have a quarter of you as members. Nothing
will change unless together as a recognisable force we try to change it.
Yours in birth
One pissed off
Tina Pettigrew
Aspiring Midwife
Convenor, Aust. B Mid Student Collective
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