Dear list, I'm a member of a consumer organisation called Friends of the Birth Centre Assoc. Brisbane and our lobbying committee is in the process of developing several flyers for community awareness to contribute to our efforts to promote local choices in maternity services and the NMAP in Qld.
First, does something like this already exist in the work of the Maternity Coalition or the Birth Action Group? - no point doubling up if quality materials are already available. If so, from where and are we able to share/use them for the above purpose? Second, three suggested topics for flyers are: - a "bill" showing the current cost of maternity services in the public sector (possibly private sector as well), - a flyer declaring "Why Birth Matters" and - a statistics sheet comparing Qld's (and Aust's) birth statistics with the WHO recommendations. Are we missing something vital? It is our intention to use these flyers in mailouts and in approaching state and federal members directly. We plan for them to be succinct, accurate and visually appealing - rather a large task for a group of volunteers - hence this request for advice. We would be happy to share our developments with others who might have use for them. My own challenge is to write the "Why Birth Matters" flyer - can readers suggest what should (and shouldn't) be included on such a document? My own thoughts (in no particular order): - birth is/should be a bonding family event, not necessarily a medical event. - modern obstetric wisdom does not promote trust in women's bodies and the natural process of birth. - women's future sexual, psychosexual and reproductive health is affected by the birth experience. - babies are active participants in the birth process and deserve more credit and respect for the role they play in birth. - quality of care and support in pregnancy, birth and the post-partum period influences a woman's physical and emotional confidence and subsequent decision-making in her role as parent (ie, bonding, PPD, choices in parenting, etc). Am I even on track? The task is somewhat overwhelming! Suggestions and criticisms and directions to sources of information are welcome. We are already sourcing a lot of our info from the NMAP bibliography but Qld specific info would be appreciated. Jodie Miller http://www.fbc.org.au -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
