Are you an MC member?

Are you currently an MC member? By joining Maternity Coalition you are making a valuable contribution to our ongoing work to improve Maternity Services for women across Australia. Membership of Maternity Coalition also puts you in touch with a broad base of members who talk birth and trust birth. As an individual member you receive Birth Matters Magazine, published quarterly. Individual membership costs $40 in Australia and $65 for overseas members. You may also gift an individual membership to a friend.

New memberships or renewals can be done online here.

If you would like to check the status of your membership, you can email: memberships@maternitycoalition.org.au

Health Minister Nicola Roxon - insurance for midwives

Links to today's news articles re. Roxon's comments on insurance for midwives and homebirth:

The Australian: Private midwives to be covered by insurance

Sydney Morning Herald: Roxon optimistic about homebirth future

Minister Roxon's media release:

First Midwives to Benefit from Indemnity Insurance

New article on Kindred website: Maternity Care for Highly Sensitive Women

Cas from Mumatopia has had another wonderful, thought provoking article published on the Kindred website, "Maternity Care for Highly Sensitive Women". Valuable reading for everyone who wants to see safe and appropriate maternity care for all women. Other great articles can be found on both websites.

Times & venues for QCMB roadshow - Dalby, Miles, Roma, St George (x 2) and Goondiwindi

In addition to the details on our previous post, see below for the flyers for the Queensland Centre for Mothers and Babies (QCMB)'s 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).

Dalby (7th June):

Miles (8th June):

Roma (9th June):

St George (morning & afternoon 10th June)


Goondiwindi (11th June):

MC Qld Brisbane gathering - 6.30pm, Tues 15 June, Mitchelton

Hi everyone,

Hope you can make it to MC's next gathering. Tues 15th June 6:30pm for 7pm start @ 177 Frasers Road, Mitchelton.

Cheers
Ildiko Keogh
Convenor, MC Qld Branch
RSVP: ildikokeogh@hotmail.com

calmbirth® course with Sharon Gavioli in Brisbane - 26/27 June

See below for a message from Sharon Gavioli who until recently was very active in the Childbirth Education Association (which has now merged with Kyabra Community Association):

Hello to my fellow birth workers, previous clients and friends.

After months of gestation and some challenges, I am pleased to announce the start of calmbirth® prenatal preparation in Brisbane.

As many of you know I have been involved in childbirth preparation for close to 10 years. With CEA no longer providing childbirth education, I felt I needed to move in a direction to meet the needs of what I felt was important for birth to have the opportunity to be an empowering experience. That direction has been training to be a calmbirth® practitioner.

The program is well known and received well in N.S.W. and Victoria but in infancy here.

Essentially the program aims to address the beliefs and fears women and men have around birth and then from this platform offer tools to enable the women to embrace her own innate inner resources. It also provides men and other support people a clear understanding how to support themselves and the birthing woman.

I feel my background firstly as a mother to 7 children, then my experience of working as a birth educator and counsellor enables me to deliver the program with sensitivity and understanding of each person's own unique vision for their baby's birth.

Attached is a flyer for the first weekend course. If you feel this is something you, your friends or any of your clients may benefit from, please just let them know about it.

If you would like to know more about calmbirth® , you would visit my website www.calmbirthbrisbane.com.au or the national website www.calmbirth.com.au or contact me directly.

Thankyou for your support,

Warmly,

Sharon Gavioli R.N.
Grad. Dip. Childbirth Education
Ad. Dip. Counselling
Reg. calmbirth® practitioner.

p. 0417 083 803 e. sharon@calmbirthbrisbane.com.au

Beaudesert Maternity Services Public Meeting - report & photos

See below for the report from Alison Gaffney, mother from Stanthorpe & Maternity Coalition's consumer representative on the Beaudesert Maternity Services Project. Thanks to Ali, Bruce, Maree and others for such a great turnout to the meeting.

About a hundred people turned up to the Beaudesert RSL on Tuesday 25 May to hear the presentations on the proposed re-opening of the Beaudesert maternity service. Michael Rice the local GP was the MC and provided an excellent picture for us to follow. Hazel Brittain the Project Officer described the proposal in detail. Jocelyn Toohill (Senior Lecturer in midwifery, Griffith Uni) spoke about other successful models to work this way in Australia and Canada. Anne Moore (QH Maternity Unit) provided a detailed description of the model of this type operating in Mareeba, Far North Qld. I spoke about the importance of continuity of carer and how I became a consumer activist. Bruce Teakle spoke about what's happened historically, that the ball is now in the community's court to see it through and MC will be across this, supporting it how ever we can.

There were politicians from the Liberals, the Greens and the newly independent state Member for Beaudesert who was with the LNP until less than 2 weeks ago. There were 3 Scenic Rim Councillors present and many men happy to stand up and say what they could see were the issues. An Aboriginal elder spoke about the importance of bringing birth back to the community. Mothers spoke about their very real questions and concerns like 'what if this doesn't go ahead?', and all were very supportive of it happening. The local Child Health nurse was also vocal about how much support she will continue to give around this model being implemented. Midwifery students spoke about how this is the sort of place they want to be working in. Midwives who are providing very limited care there at the moment spoke about their love of the job and their excitement at the prospect of providing so much more.

I was hugely inspired by such a great turn out and response by the community and especially of a community action group being formed to follow the projects developments, provide info and be a community voice when needed.

What is needed by you blog readers, is to email our State Health Minister Paul Lucas directly and make it clear that this is exactly the sort of service that Queenslanders want and need, to put our system and our families in good health.

Alison Gaffney

Hazel Brittain, midwife & Project Officer, Beaudesert Maternity Services Project:


Alison Gaffney, Maternity Coalition


Bruce Teakle, Maternity Coalition: