Fantastic letter Justine. Let us know about the response you get.
Cheers,
Tanya.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Justine Caines" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "OzMid List" <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2005 9:34 PM
Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] Indigestion at breakfast....
Dear All
My response to Miranda.
JC
xx
Dear Miranda
Your headline today was perfect. It is unfortunate that the story did not
follow.
I am a Mother of 4, with twins due in November (yes I know what
contraception is!).
I live in rural NSW and have been without a maternity service for 15 years
(long before I had my babies).
We have no specialist Obstetrician nor a GP with obstetric training and
probably never will.
We do however have 3 local midwives who would provide care to low risk women
in our local hospital.
Currently I travel 150 kms to receive antenatal care. I have no choice in
this care, and the conditions of the nearest unit are pre-historic.
Miranda I read some time ago about your experiences and understand (correct
me if I am wrong) that you chose caesarean section. I respect that you made
that choice. Do you believe that as a woman I too should have choice?
Because currently like 50% of rural women I have none.
Do you believe that the safety of both myself and baby is important? (From
your story it would seem so)
If you do a little more research on what is happening in the majority of
rural units and even some on metropolitan fringes then you would understand
that I (as a healthy woman) would be much safer in my local community with
midwifery care (even without on site medical care). My ³choice² now is to
dodge Kangaroos in labour (no doubt in the middle of the night) in an area
with no mobile coverage, or risk an ambulance ride if it is all too quick.
Why do I say Orisk¹ well our Ambo¹s who are amazing people are not equipped
for a post partum haemorrhage (they do not carry syntocinon which stops
bleeding, a drug midwives are trained to use and carry). So if I have the
baby enroute and have a big bleed after they simply become good drivers.
Most women do not know this and when we are often talking 2 hour (road)
transfers (and then some!) this is very important. If I was in my local
community in a midwifery unit a midwife would have the drug and the required
knowledge to stop the bleeding.
My 3rd baby was a 50 minute labour from one small pain to a baby in arms. I
know I am much safer with midwives caring for me in a system that already
has safe transfer arrangements for all other conditions (we live and drive
cars and work on farms and have accidents in the country that require
transfer).
By the way where I live is by no means remote, It is in the Upper Hunter
Valley, 2 and a half hours north west of Newcastle.
Women and babies deserve better. Midwifery clinics can offer a choice to
women that are patently unsafe now. Midwifery clinics are not just better
than birth on the side of the road, they can safely assist the majority of
women with healthy pregnancies and refer the minority of women needing
medical assistance. At the moment none of this happens.
I would be happy to talk with you should you be open to hearing stories of
rural women in this situation.
Kind regards
Justine Caines
Phone (02) 65482248
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