Hi Deb Have you ever considered starting a "branch " of the NCT here in Australia ? hug Julie ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrea Robertson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 6:05 AM Subject: Re: Setting up pre-natal classes in Adelaide
> Hi Deb, > > Yes, setting up classes in Perth as an independent educator has been hard > for years. We have had several students of the Graduate Diploma who found > the going tough - there does seem to be a "closed shop" mentality amongst > hospital staff towards community classes and they are not seen as a > resource that can be helpful to the system - e.g. as a place to refer > clients when the hospital classes are full, as a source of support for > innovative hospital services etc. > > There are a whole group of independent educators in Sydney, and have been > for many years. Some receive referrals from Hospital booking clerks etc and > midwives, and word of mouth is another source of clients. I am not running > private classes at the moment (never here long enough!) but when I was, for > many years I too had women calling to book in very early. I never had > trouble filling classes! > > It is hard to know what to suggest to rectify the situation in WA - there > needs to be much better communication between hospital staff and community > based educators. Some hospitals there are very defensive about their > maternity care and there has been a lot of scrutiny of birth outcomes (not > as good as they should/could be) that probably feeds into a siege mentality > that discourages open communication. The situation in many of the > hospitals has probably been one of the reasons why home birth has > flourished - and of course home birth midwives often run their own classes > or groups. > > Keep trying - there is a real need for good educators everywhere! > > Andrea > > > > > >>In Britain I used to work on behalf of the National Childbirth Trust and > >>couples would book months in advance to get a place on a course as well > >>as going to the hospital ones, so it's a bit of culture shock for me here!! > > > ----- > Andrea Robertson > Birth International * ACE Graphics * Associates in Childbirth Education > > e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > web: www.birthinternational.com > > > -- > This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. > Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
