[ozmidwifery] Re: NSW news

[G Lemay]

The endless credentialling and "proving" that midwifery care is safe is just a trick to keep midwives chasing their tails forever.  The real power for midwives lies in telling the truth  "Most women would be better off with a chimpanzee as caregiver than a physician."  Also, many women give birth just fine all alone and there's very little one way or another that any person outside of the family does on the day of the birth to make a baby live or die.  The main thing that is offered by midwives is what they DON'T do---give dangerous pharmaceuticals to birthing women and their babies.  I can  never understand why anybody is trying to justify the safety of midwifery care any more.  Marjorie Tew of Glasgow, Scotland has done all the research that we ever need to see.  What is really superlative about her work is that she was seeking to prove that giving birth in large hospitals was the safest thing.  When someone sets out to prove one thing and then becomes a travelling spokesperson for the opposite view, THAT gets my attention.  Once she showed statistically, that home or small clinic is the safest place to give birth EVEN FOR VERY HIGH RISK WOMEN, then she turned her attention to "How young of a preemie can safely be born at home?"  What she found by using Dutch stats is that down to 32 w.g.a. babies are best born outside of big hospitals.  It may be that even younger babies do better at home but there were not sufficient numbers to prove that.  Her book "Safer Childbirth?" should be required reading for all those MCP ob/gyns you have in Australia.  Gloria  Sonja wrote: I don't have a problem with credentialing. What I do have a problem is, what additional, ongoing training or credentialing does an ob have to do. These are the people that save the babies!!!!! Just ask Andrew Pesce and Pieter Mourik!! Sonja ----- Original Message ----- From: "G Lemay" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au> Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 1:26 AM Subject: [ozmidwifery] NSW news New credentials give hope for birth centre EMMA SWAIN Tuesday, 30 August 2005 New credentials for midwives assisting in low risk births may pave the way for a midwifery-managed birthing model to be established in Maitland, a young mother has said. Maitland mother of two, Sarah-Jane Hazell, said news that midwives working under midwifery-managed birthing models in NSW would now be credentialed was a positive move forward for women's choice when it came to giving birth. "I think this is just fantastic news and I believe it means Maitland has a real chance of having a midwifery-led birthing model like the one already established at Belmont," Ms Hazell, a member of the NSW Maternity Coalition, said. The Belmont Birthing Service opened in July for those Hunter women unlikely to experience complications during pregnancy, labour and birth. This is the first midwifery-led birthing service to be established in the Hunter area. Ms Hazell gave birth to her second child at home after experiencing a traumatic hospital birth with her first child. "One to one midwifery care is a wonderful thing and women should have the choice of using this method if they want to, besides obstetricians are becoming more difficult to find and more expensive so a midwifery-managed model seems like the perfect alternative." NSW Health Minister John Hatzistergos said the new credentialling process, to be administered by the NSW Midwives Association, would be a first of its kind for Australia. "This new system of credentialling for midwives is a quality control mechanism that will optimise safety for women who opt for midwifery-managed antenatal, birthing and postnatal care," Mr Hatzistergos said. "In the rare instance that a problem develops during pregnancy, labour, birth or the post-natal period, midwives working as primary care givers will need to make important decisions about the need to seek medical attention. "The credentialling process will provide a further set of checks and balances to ensure midwives are competent and confident in providing this care to women in low-risk settings." President of the NSW Midwives Association Dr Pat Brodie said this exciting new initiative would enable the public and care providers to have increased confidence in the range of services provided by midwives working in this way. "For the first time, midwives have an opportunity to participate in a standardised quality process across the State," Mr Brodie said. http://maitland.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=local&category=general%20news&story_id=419799&y=2005&m=8 -- 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.