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Midwifery Intensives

The first of what I hope will be many Midwifery Intensive workshops has just been completed in Sydney. A group of midwives, very ably led by Maggie Banks and her assistant Cath Knox, worked through emergency procedures that midwives may encounter in their practise over two and a half days. This workshop, similar in content, yet very differently focussed from the ALSO course, enables midwives to gain confidence when faced with reasonably common crises, such as shoulder dystocia, breech birth and resuscitation scenarios. Other topics such as suturing were also covered in a format that incorporated hands on practise with models, sharing of stories and affirmation of midwifery models of care.

This first program was a huge success and will be the first of many. Maggie and I have identified some dates for next year and planning will now start on finding a suitable woman friendly, cloistered environment where birth issues can be freely canvassed and intimately shared. We hope to be able to offer a program in Melbourne and another in Sydney, around the middle of next year.

Whenever I have the opportunity to talk to Maggie about birth in New Zealand, where she is based, I am always both impressed with the Kiwis and envious of their achievements. I have to remind myself that a small country with one jurisdiction (one Government and one court system, for example) is beneficial when proposing change and that Australia, with seven Governments, enormous differences and many more vested interests, is at a disadvantage in this respect. However, New Zealand provides some shining examples of what can be achieved and some notable successes that we would do well to emulate. Their midwifery presence gives us hope and inspiration and examples that are hard to avoid.

One day we will achieve similar outcomes for women and babies. Let’s hope that the long wait will have been put to good use and that whatever we finally manage to put in place for birth services will draw not only the good aspects of our Kiwi cousins’ maternity services but will have drawn on the lessons they have learned. Not everything that New Zealand has achieved was easy, and in fact the struggle is constantly going on to ensure that the drive for medicalisation does not overwhelm the services that midwives have established. They are a long way ahead of us, yet we are getting closer every day.

Posted by andrea at November 29, 2004 06:56 PM