MEDIA RELEASE
30 May 2024
NSW government called to act urgently as highly anticipated Birth Trauma Inquiry recommendations are released
Australia’s peak maternity advocacy organisation, Maternity Choices Australia (MCA), welcomes the release of the New South Wales (NSW) Birth Trauma Inquiry report, urging the government to quickly act on key recommendations.
The Inquiry, the first of its kind in Australia, has drawn international attention after receiving more than 4000 submissions and hearing first-hand experiences of the traumas and suffering birthing women have experienced in NSW hospitals.
‘After so many women have bravely stepped forward and shared their stories of the coercion, bullying, and mistreatment they have been put through at the hands of NSW Health, the onus is now on government to quickly move forward with these recommendations,’ said Carla Finch, Managing Director of MCA.
‘Only then can justice be done to ensure further women and families do not continue to suffer at this crucial and most vulnerable moment in their lives,’ said Ms Finch.
A key recommendation handed-down in the report is universal access to midwifery-led continuity of carer maternity models, which has been identified by academia and industry to significantly improve outcomes for mothers and babies.
‘We cannot reiterate how important it is that the NSW government adopt universal midwifery-led continuity of care as a matter of priority,’ said Ms Finch.
‘We have campaigned continuously for over 30 years for all women of all risk levels to have access to a primary midwife, and this simple evidence-based measure would drastically decrease rates of birth trauma.’
MCA also welcomes the report’s recommendation to ‘investigate expanding’ publicly funded homebirth services after resounding calls by women during the Inquiry for more access to homebirth.
‘Currently, only three Local Health Districts (LHDs) in NSW are providing publicly funded homebirth services, which puts NSW well behind other states, so we would like to see access expanded to the remaining 15 LHDs,’ said Ms Finch
‘The research and international evidence already tells us that care delivered in or near a woman’s home delivers the best outcomes for mother and baby at the lowest cost.’
While MCA supports the recommendation for informed consent training for clinicians, the report lacks any recommendations regarding streamlining legal protections for women who have been harmed and did not consent to their treatment.
‘We would like to see community legal centres be established to support women who have experienced obstetric violence or any women who would like to issue a complaint in regards to medical negligence, discrimination, criminal and sexual assault or violation in the healthcare system,’ said Ms Finch.
‘Women have waited too long for evidence-based, woman-centred care to be provided in our maternity services.'
‘The rest of Australia and the world beyond are now watching to see how the NSW government responds to addressing the crisis currently facing our maternity system.’
MCA wishes to extend special thanks to the committee chair, Hon Emma Hurst MLC for leading the establishment of this Inquiry and demonstrating a strong commitment to have all women’s voices heard.
MCA’s submission to the inquiry can be read here and MCA's brief to NSW MPs is available here.
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www.maternitychoices.org.au
For interviews or more information, please contact Azure Rigney on +61 (0)416 638 338 nsw@maternitychoices.org.au or Sally Cusack at secretary@maternitychoices.org.au.
