Orgasmic Birth In Australia

Lessons of Labour, written by Dr Hannah Dahlen, Associate Professor of Midwivefery at the University of Western Sydney, appeared yesterday on the ABC’s online Unleashed pages ”. Dr  Dahlen makes many important clarifying points, in what has been a media storm over homebirth in recent weeks, marked by misinformation, inappropriately quoted studies, bias and narrow minded conjecture.

Mortality

• According to the perinatal statistics for 2006 (the most recent ones available) 711 babies were born in planned homebirths in Australia with no deaths reported.
• In the same year 2730 babies died in hospitals settings (representing 1% of all live births). For more information see Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s report Australian Mothers and Babies 2006.
• The four deaths attributed to homebirths, as reported in the Daily Telegraph are yet to be confirmed – but were reported as fact.

Not all Homebirths are the Same

• There has been a lack of acknowledgement in media reports and opinion pieces of the difference between planned homebirths for women with low risk pregnancies attended by a competent midwife who is well networked into mainstream services AND births at home where there is no professional care or where the woman has risk factors in her pregnancy.
• There is definite differences in each option with low risk midwife attended birth at home supported by research as safe, compared with other birth at home options.

Rising Intervention Rates

• Intervention rates during childbirth have sky-rocketed over the past ten years in Australia.
• Women are now more likely to have intervention than not have intervention.
• These interventions cause women to feel traumatised and fearful.

Limited Options

• Options of care for childbearing women remain limited.
• Around three per cent of women able to access continuity of midwifery care (aprox 2% in birthing centre and less than 1% at home.)

Closure of Maternity Units

• In the last 10 years, 130 maternity units have shut down in Australia.
• This has given rise to the growing incidence of ‘roadside births.’
• It also means increasing numbers of women are birthing a great distance away from family and friends.

No Insurance

• Privately practicing midwives have not been able to obtain affordable insurance since 2000.
• Many midwives have stopped practising because of their inability to be insured.

Appropriate Management Complicated

• Privately practicing midwives cannot order routine blood tests or ultrasounds.
• Pricately practicing midwives often find it difficult to obtain the results for the women they care for, causing delays in appropriate management.

Financial Restrictions

• Few financial rebates are available for homebirth
• Families pay out of pocket $3000-5000 dollars for a privately practising medwife.
• Some women simply cannot afford to pay that.

Dr Dahlen states that the ramification of these issues are:

• more traumatised women due to interventions during birth
• fewer options of care - especially continuity of midwifery care
• fewer experienced, networked midwives available to attend women privately
• and no access for women to a hospital birth under a private midwife.

These issues have contributed to the rise in unattended homebirth and more woman with high-risk pregnancies are seeking private midwifery care at home.

You can read Lessons of Labour at the ABC’s Unleased Pages.

Jodi Cleghorn is a homebirth Mum, natural birth and breastfeeding advocate, activist and writer.  For three years Jodi was the editor of the quarterly magazine “Down to Birth” and spent four years involved with the Home Midwifery Association in Brisbane.