Tag Archives: maternity services

Some reading you mustn’t miss

May 19, 2009 – 9:46 am

While the front pages and buckets of airtime are being devoured by the question of whether the wealthy should have to pay more for their private health insurance, there are other, far more important things that you could be reading about.
The 18 May edition of the Medical Journal of Australia is devoted to Indigenous health,  [...]

By Croakey | Posted in Food, Health inequalities, Hospitals, Indigenous health, Journal articles, Media-related issues, childbirth and maternity services, chronic diseases, dental care, prevention, private health insurance, public health, rural and remote health | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (2)

“Landmark” night for maternity services

May 12, 2009 – 10:20 pm

Caroline Homer, Professor of Midwifery, UTS, writes:
It’s a landmark night for maternity services for Australian women. Finally, after more than 20 years of discussion and debate this Federal government has been brave enough to acknowledge that maternity services are provided by a number of health professional including midwives, GP obstetricians and obstetricians.
Tonight’s announcement goes towards [...]

By Croakey | Posted in Federal Budget 2009-2010, childbirth and maternity services, nurses and nursing | Also tagged , , , | Comments (2)

Another slant on the obstetricians’ spin

May 7, 2009 – 8:38 pm

The obstetricians are out in full force, suggesting that mooted changes to the Safety Net will “punish women and their families because they chose to seek help with their pregnancy and births from doctors in the private sector rather than the overwhelmed public hospitals system”.
Really?
For another perspective, have a read of this Crikey article in [...]

By Croakey | Posted in Health inequalities, Hospitals, adverse events, childbirth and maternity services, health ethics, health reform, quality and safety of health care | Also tagged , , , | Comments (1)

Homes, hospitals and births: new research

April 17, 2009 – 7:02 pm

Further to her previous post, Justine Caines comments on a new study of births in the Netherlands:
“A lot changes in a week! Yesterday a study of all births in the Netherlands was released.
This paper found home birth was as safe as hospital birth.  The survey size was a whopping 529,688 births.  This figure is close [...]

By Croakey | Posted in Hospitals, Journal articles, childbirth and maternity services, health and medical research, quality and safety of health care | Also tagged , | Comments (0)

Homebirth advocate calls for a fair go

April 17, 2009 – 9:13 am

Justine Caines, Secretary of Homebirth Australia, has sent in the
following critique of recent media coverage about the dangers of homebirth:
“Feminism is a dirty word, especially if you are a pro-establishment
columnist. Last week many media reports questioned the safety of homebirth.
Doctors were outraged at the death of 4 babies, without revealing any case
facts. Many have regarded [...]

By Croakey | Posted in adverse events, childbirth and maternity services, health ethics, health reform | Also tagged , , | Comments (5)

Will the maternity services report make a difference?

February 25, 2009 – 10:59 am

Caroline Homer, Professor of Midwifery at the University of Technology Sydney, comments on the new report:
“It is an exciting time to be part of Australian maternity services! The key recommendations of the Report of the Maternity Services Review, commissioned by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, are exciting and encouraging and pave the way [...]

By Croakey | Posted in childbirth and maternity services, health reform | Also tagged , | Comments (0)