Herald Sun - Sun 30 May - Anaesthetists object to 'midwife bias'

For full news article click here: Anaesthetists object to 'midwife bias'


You can read the NHMRC's draft National Guidance on Collaborative Maternity Care document for yourself. Public comments closed last week and Maternity Coalition made a submission. What do you think of the draft?

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Qld Centre for Mothers & Babies in Dalby (7th June), Miles (8th June), Roma (9th June), St George (10th June) and Goondiwindi (11th June)

Queensland Centre for Mothers and Babies (QCMB) is about to set off on their third Roadshow, visiting women and their primary maternity carers in Dalby (7th June), Miles (8th June), Roma (9th June), St George (10th June) and Goondiwindi (11th June).

The purpose of this Roadshow is to listen to women and their primary maternity carers views on what it is like to be pregnant, birth and care for a newborn (and provide care for those who are pregnant, birthing and caring for newborns) while living in South West Queensland.

QCMB are hoping to speak with pregnant women and new mums in and near all the towns listed above. They are particularly keen to listen to women who are aware of the state of maternity care in their area, including what other women and their families say about it.

Please circulate this information among your networks, especially to people in Dalby, Miles, Roma, St George and Goondi (or surrounding areas). For further information, please contact Rachelle Jones at QCMB (contact details below).

Rachelle Jones
Research Officer
Queensland Centre for Mothers & Babies
The University of Queensland Brisbane Qld 4072 Australia
t. +61 7 3346 3083 f. +61 7 3346 3085
e. r.jones6@uq.edu.au w. www.havingababy.org.au

blogtalkradio: The Birth Crisis with Ricki Lake, Anna Getty & Alisa Donner

Click on this link to listen to a 30 min online radio show by Pregnancy Awareness Month:

blogtalkradio: The Birth Crisis with Ricki Lake, Anna Getty & Alisa Donner

Ricki Lake, Anna Getty, and Alisa Donner discuss the recent state of homebirth and midwifery law in New York City. They'll also be discussing the case of Dr. Biter, the much-loved OBGYN who recently lost privileges at Scripps Hospital in California.

La Leche League It’s a Wrap!

Check out this blog post by Pink Chalk Studios for a fantastic event held by a local branch of the La Leche League (like ABA) in the US to support new Mums:

Pink Chalk Studios: La Leche Leauge It's a Wrap

Childbirth Choices Seminar - Southside Brisbane - Sat 19th June

See below for details of Kyabra's upcoming Childbirth Choices Seminar for Southside Brisbane.....

Dear supporters and friends,

Childbirth Choices information seminar – Kyabra Community Association 19th June 2010

Kyabra Community Associations is proud to announce the encore series of Childbirth Choices Information Seminars originally developed and presented by Childbirth Education Association (CEA) in 2008/2009. These seminars present information about early choices in birth for Southside residents, building upon the success of previous seminars which attracted over 50 participants, and received excellent responses.

‘Before attending this seminar I didn’t know a lot about birth options. I now feel I have more information to make an informed choice and have more confidence in going for a natural birth’(Female, planning a pregnancy).

‘Knowledge is power. Feeling empowered during the birth is very important – that’s how I want to feel’ (Female, currently pregnant).

‘Better informed. More confident. Identify what I want and what I don’t want’ (Male, planning a pregnancy)

‘Consolidation of ideas of everything I have read and a good starting point for discussions with my husband’ (Female, currently pregnant).

The 3 hour seminar is ideal for those planning a baby or in early pregnancy, giving a great introduction to local birthing options, and quality independent information about the range of environments, carers and decisions available on the path to having a baby. Our aim is to offer opportunities to be informed, empowered and supported on the journey to the birth experience of your choice, and assist you to have your birth your way.

‘balanced’, ‘lots of information’, ‘wide variety of speakers knowledgeable in their areas’, ‘speakers were passionate and well informed’, ‘very good mixture of explanations and real life stories’, ‘brilliant resources’, ‘relaxed, open and friendly’, ‘easy to ask questions’

Prospective Dads find these interactive seminars really useful too. At previous seminars at least one third of the audience were men, so bring your partner along!

Those attending the seminar also receive a copy of the Childbirth Choices information booklet which explains birth choices, key issues, research and resources.

Call to book in soon as places are limited! Please contact either Mel Hilditch (melhi@kyabra.org /33739440 or 0403491320) or Trish Landsberger to book in and to arrange complimentary tickets if needed.

A flier is attached, please forward this around your networks, far and wide, and to anyone you know who might be considering pregnancy or in early pregnancy.


Thank you for your support!

Mel Hilditch
Coordinator FREST Program
Kyabra Community Association
PO Box 1103, Sunnybank Hills QLD 4109
Tel: (07) 3373 9440 | Mob: 0403 491 320
Fax: (07) 3373 9444 | Web: www.kyabra.org
melhi@kyabra.org

Public meeting - Beaudesert maternity services project - Tues 25th May, 6.30pm, Beaudesert RSL

You are invited to be a part of this very exciting event. Queensland Health is in the process of designing a new maternity service that will provide continuity of care with a midwife for women in and around Beaudesert. Consumers should know that this is an opportunity to be a part of the design and implementation. By being involved we can greatly enhance the service and keep it going - nothing is set in stone! This service will fulfill 'Birth on Country' requirements for our indigenous sisters and will keep birth local.

After years of Beaudesert's maternity service being closed, reopened, and closed again due to problems finding the right doctor to run it, the plan is to set up a midwifery "primary care" model. This will be run by midwives based in Beaudesert, providing care in the community and at the hospital, and referring women with medical or complex needs to local GPs or to Logan Hospital. Women with straightforward pregnancies will be able to birth in Beaudesert Hospital, while women with more complex needs will mostly birth at Logan. This model works well at Mareeba (near Cairns), in several hospitals in NSW, and in many hospitals in other countries (e.g. New Zealand, Canada, etc).

While there is a very promising proposal on the table, this is by no means a done deal. Some people in Qld Health are nervous about providing birthing services at a distance from a fully-equipped operating theatre, and the project does not yet have full sign-off. Strong community support will be needed to make Beaudesert the first rural maternity unit in Qld to be re-established in many years.

MC members are strongly encouraged to come to learn how this is possible in your area and meet and greet with others interested in seeing excellent maternity services everywhere. If you know anyone in this area, not just pregnant women or mothers but anyone, please let them know this is an important part of keeping communities strong, by having birth local with a known midwife and will enhance the whole community.

For more info call Alison Gaffney from Maternity Coalition on (07) 4683 2888 or 0404 648 486

Call for EOIs from consumers for complimentary registrations to Breathing New Life Into Maternity Care Conference, Alice Springs

See below for the call for EOIs from consumers to attend the upcoming Breathing New Life Conference....


The Australian College of Midwives’ (ACM) Consumer Advisory Committee is calling for Expressions of Interest from individual consumers and consumer organizations to apply for a limited number of free registrations to the 3rd Biennial Conference ‘Breathing New Life into Maternity Care – Working together learning from each other’ being held in Alice Springs, 1-3 July 2010.

Expressions of Interest (EOI) must address selection criteria and be submitted by Thursday 27 May 2010 via email to:
Luke Sanders, Australian College of Midwives.
Email: members@midwives.org.au
Phone (toll free): 1300 360 480

I apologise for the tight timeframe. We are wanting to advise successful applicants as soon as possible (31 May) so they can book flights as quickly as possible.

For more information see below. Email myself or Luke for the Word document application form.

I encourage you to apply, and also to publicise the call amongst your networks.

--
Melissa Fox
Chair, Consumer Advisory Committee, Australian College of Midwives
Ph: 07 3846 4664
Mob: 0404 88 2716
Em: melissafox@optusnet.com.au

-----------------------------

Call for Expressions of Interest

Complimentary registrations for
Consumer Representatives to attend
ACM’s Collaborative Conference
‘Breathing New Life into Maternity Care:
working together learning from each other’
Alice Springs, 1-3 July 2010

The Australian College of Midwives (ACM) is a national, not-for-profit organisation that serves as the peak professional body for midwives. It provides a unified political voice for the midwifery profession, supports midwives to reach their full potential, and sets professional practice and education standards. It is also committed to ensuring all childbearing women have access to continuity of care by a known midwife. www.midwives.org.au

Across Australia, midwives and mothers are working to improve women’s maternity choices. ACM events provide valuable opportunities to further this collaboration and build capacity of consumer representatives, through networking and education. In recognising this, ACM’s Board made a decision to provide a limited number of complimentary registrations to consumer representatives at National College conferences and other relevant events.

Breathing New Life into Maternity Care is a collaborative conference held every second year to provide a forum for interdisciplinary dialogue about issues of mutual interest or concern in the provision of safe and high quality maternity care to women and their families. It attracts midwives, GPS and obstetricians, as well as consumers, policy makers and managers. In 2010, the theme for the Breathing New Life Collaborative conference will be “working together learning from each other”. ACM are offering a consumer registration rate of $525 for the full conference (same rate as full time students). For more information on the conference go to: http://www.breathingnewlife.remark.com.au/

However individual consumers and consumer organizations are also invited to apply for a limited number of complimentary registrations by submitting Expressions of Interest (EOI) which address the following selection criteria:
· Nominee’s potential for making effective use of conference experience in ongoing work, in regard to promotion of the midwifery profession.
· Nominee’s record of support for the midwifery profession.
· Contribution of nominee to conference/event agenda, e.g. presentation.
· Nominee’s willingness to join College as a consumer member.

Please submit EOIs by Thursday 27 May 2010 via email to Luke Sanders, Australian College of Midwives. Email: members@midwives.org.au Phone (toll free): 1300 360 480.

Expressions of interest will be assessed by ACM’s Consumer Advisory Committee, based upon these criteria. Selection for free registrations for consumer representative places will be made by ACM’s Board, following recommendation from ACM’s Consumer Advisory Committee.

Successful applicants will be advised via email and phone by ACM’s Consumer Advisory Committee on Monday 31st May 2010.

If you have any questions, please contact Luke Sanders, as above.

Welcome to our blog!

MC Qld Committee members Ildiko, Melissa & Mel working on our blog.

Our blog is born! Over scalding pumpkin soup, on a back deck in inner city Brisbane, MC's Qld Branch has started our first ever blog. We thought this might be a better format for our email newsletter Birth Action News. We're hoping our blog will become the place for us to regularly post news, updates, events, studies and most importantly - ACTIONS - what you can do.

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