Re: [ozmidwifery] Presenting a united front

[Aviva Sheb'a]

I applaud you!   Aviva ----- Original Message ----- From: Mary Murphy To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: ACMI Sent: Friday, August 30, 2002 9:05 PM Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] Presenting a united front As a Fellow of the Australian College of midwifes and a member and worker for 20 yrs,  I must also say that I am disappointed in the deafening silence of the ACMI Executive about the overall state of maternity services.  As a midwife in private practice, I see that the insurance issue and my own conditions of employment are up to me to fight for.  I don't expect that the ACMI should do that.  However, when the majority midwives are (for all kinds of personal reasons) colluding in the medicalisation of births of the  the women of Australia, I feel like a raging lioness, wanting to protect my young.  Medicalisation causes the majority of babies in Australia to be born imprinted in a drug filled haze.  In todays West Australian newspaper it stated that W.A. had the 2nd highest illegal drug problem in Australia. Is it any wonder!  Women who wish to birth naturally without drugs  and the midwives who support them are seen to be deviates.  After attending the births of 4 women in the last 2 weeks, a 3rd baby , 5.2kgs, no tears, no drugs, who was told to have a C/S because she wouldn't be able to birth the baby; a primip who birthed a 3.6kgs baby in 7 hrs, no tears, no drugs; a primip who birthed a 3.8kg baby in 6 hrs, labial tears, no drugs and a primip who birthed a 4.4kgs baby in 12hrs, no tears or drugs- all waterbirths.  Waterbirths are not allowed in our hospitals or our birth centre because they are "dangerous", yet it is O.K to fill them up with epidurals or drugs by another route, or even to indoctrinate women to the idea that planned caesareans are "risk free", then blame them for choosing that option... or even giving them that option.  Some of the women above had personal histories which may have caused a planned casarean, or an instrumental delivery if they had stuck with the medical model and their midwives had gone for the epidural, hospital birth scenario.  Patience and encouragement allowed them to triumph and experience real healing in their births.