Understanding Birth

My Birth, My Choice – Rallies in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth

(please forward this far and wide)

We call on you to rally to protect birth options and choices for Australian women.

My Birth, My Choice – Rallies in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth

Monday 9 November 2009 from 10.30am (local time)

The Maternity Services Reform process that promised so much to so many, is now at risk from the medical lobby, who would strip many women of birth choices and options that are currently open to them.

Nicola Roxon yesterday announced amendments to the midwifery legislation that is currently before Parliament which will fundamentally redefine the nature of midwifery in Australia particularly homebirth midwifery. The new clause requires midwives to enter into “collaborative arrangements with medical practitioners" in order to access the new arrangements. It effectively appoints private obstetricians and GP obstetricians as the gatekeepers for access to private midwifery care in Australia. This amendment requires midwives to have a “collaborative arrangement” in place at all times. If a midwife is unable to comply she will face loss of registration, insurance and Medicare.

How will it be possible for independent private practice midwives to support women to birth at home or in hospital? How will it be possible to expand options of midwifery care such as birth centres? How can home birth midwives "collaborate" with practitioners who do not believe that home birth should be available as a model of care for women?

Medical practitioners have powerful cultural and financial incentives to disable private midwifery and de-rail other models of midwifery care. The Australian Medical Association (AMA) have widely and publicly condemned homebirth and vilified privately practicing midwives. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Genealogists (RANCOG) expressly state that they do not support homebirth or freestanding birth centres.
RANZCOG position statement on home birth reads –
“The College does not support Home Birth or ‘Free-standing’ Birth Centres (without adjacent obstetric and neonatal facilities) as appropriate Health Care Settings."
"Home birth should not be offered as a Model of Care".
Come, rally with us! Raise your voice to tell the leaders of this government that women must retain the right to choose, where, how and with whom they give birth.

Politicians need to understand that we will not take the erosion of women’s basic rights lying down, and we are not going to go away. We have written thousands of submissions. We have petitioned Health Minister Nicola Roxon directly through thousands of emails and phone calls. We have protested in record numbers outside Parliament House in Canberra. Roxon is not listening and she is failing Australian women and their families.

We are asking Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard and Tanya Plibersek to guarantee that Australian women’s birthing rights are protected.

We need this to be as big as possible. We invite other groups to join the rally to make this the beginning of a very clear election campaign.

Our message:

My Birth, My Choice

Monday 9 November 2009 from 10.30am (local time)

Rally points:

Brisbane:
Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd’s office
633 Wynnum Road
Morningside Qld 4170

Melbourne (Werribee):
Deputy Prime Minister
Julia Gillard’s office
Shop 2, 36 Synnot Street
Werribee Vic 3030

Sydney:
Minister for the Status of Women
Tanya Plibersek’s office
111-117 Devonshire Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010

Perth:
Note: 11.10am start for Perth rally
Office of Stephen Smith
(most senior Gov member in WA)
953A Beaufort Street
Inglewood WA 6932

(see below for site specific rally information and contact / travel details)

Women, children, men, families, friends who support choice in birth, including homebirth with a private midwife come join us!

Bring banners, drums and percussion instruments. Let’s make sure we are seen and heard!!

Bring a 'calling card' to drop off, letting the ministers know that women want choice in childbirth and this includes the choice to hire a private midwife to birth at home (or in hospital). The calling card should be an A4 piece of paper (can be larger or smaller) with your name and address, concerns, experience, suggestions and request a response from the minister about this important issue. If you are unable to attend a rally, please send your calling card, by post, to each of the ministers listed as well as your local federal member of parliament.

The rallies are being organised by Homebirth Australia and are supported by Maternity Coalition, Joyous Birth, Homebirth Access Sydney, and Midwives in Private Practice.

More info

Homebirth Australia: Justine Caines justine.caines@gmail.com 0408 210 273

Maternity Coalition: Lisa Metcalfel.metcalfe@tpg.com.au 0437 577 576


Site specific rally information and contact / travel details

Brisbane:
Brisbanerally contact:Kirsten Adams adamskirsten@hotmail.com
It may be best to park in the side streets and walk to Kev's office (eg. Burrai St., Agnes St., Rogoona St., Thynne Road). There are a couple of cafes and bakeries onWynnum Roadtoo. The nearest park is on the corner of Thynne Rdand Rogoona St and not that great. A better park is at the bottom of Burrai Stwhich turns intoPashen Street, HawthornePark, if people want to eat, meet up and let kids have a run around AFTER the rally.

Sydney:
Sydneyrally contact:Jo Hunter jophil@aapt.net.au 0412 315 228

Melbourne (Werribee):
Werribee rally contact: Melissa McFarlane melissa@boundlessblue.com.au 0423 155 460
Julia Gillard's office is located an easy 4 minute walk from the Werribee train station.

Travelling from Melbourne:
Travel to Werribee from Melbourneby train:
Trains departing Southern cross station:
9.03am - arrives Werribee 9.54am
Departs 9.33am, arrives Werribee 10.24am. (this would be fine I think)
Return trains from Werribee are available at 12.26, 12.38 and 12.46 and take approx. 40 mins to get back to Melbourne.
If anyone is considering coming from Melbournevia train could they please let us know what time, and again could a few people step forward to act as marshals for the Melbournecrowd.

Travelling from Geelong:
People coming from Geelongare planning to all go on the one train and walk to the office all together, banners flying.
Train times departing Geelongstations:
Marshall9.24, Sth Geelong 9.29, Geelong9.34, Nth Geelong9.37, NorthShore9.40, Corio 9.43, Lara 9.48, Little River 9.53
Arrives Werribee station 10.02
It would be great if we could have two Geelong people willing to act as marshals and be responsible for being visible on the platforms and familiarising themselves with the way to Julia's office, and lead the people walking from the station, being sure to cross at the lights etc (2 streets to cross). Return trains are at 12.26 and 2.27pm

"Birth is as safe as life gets"

"

Birth

is as

safe

as life gets."-

Harriette Hartigan

Women have choices if they want them and take responsibilty for baby and themselves.

Because we are too short, too tall, too thin, too small of foot, too old, too young, too wide, and our pelvises are too narrow, too small, too untried, or unproven or the wrong shape, and our uteruses are too scarred, or pointing the wrong way, or we are too multiparous, too fertile, too infertile, too female, too small, too big, too fat, too emotional, too detached, too strong, too weak, too intelligent, too well designed to birth, not designed well enough, and our vaginas are too scarred, too unproven, not stretchy enough or too stretchy, and we’re too inconvenient, too unpredictable, too demanding, too informed, too loud, too messy, and our bodies labour too long or not long enough, and our cervices don’t dilate 1cm an hour on command and because when you hire a surgeon you get surgery and hospitals are for sick people… and so for these and many other reasons, we are part of the homebirth movement.

 

Rally to save birth choices 11:30am Parliament House in Canberra 7th September 2009

Laugh at violence against women?

I would just like to remind the committee that the leading cause of maternal death in this country is suicide.

- Hannah Dahlen

"Reducing stress often means a more successful labour, less need for surgical and other forms of medical intervention, and less pain relief. That has always been the banner flown high by supporters of homebirth—that, no matter what study you look at around the world, the degree of intervention and the need for pain relief is far lower. A mother is far more likely to have a normal, uncomplicated delivery when birthing at home. We tend to take our focus away from that and shift it onto neonatal death and stillbirth, issues which are still very difficult to prove. One thing is clear: the importance of delivery at home for mothers who choose it—for mothers who are mentally ready to deliver at home and who actively seek out that kind of service.
The thing is that Australia is a nation of choice. But we have a government taking the choice away. I cannot put it any more simply than that. Delivery at home should be a right. We have the hospital service that can support it and we should be fighting hard to make sure that indemnity is extended to the low-risk deliveries cohort. Of course we need provisions for high-risk deliveries. I acknowledge that. We may have to look at ways to achieve that in a large nation like this. But let us not become the first country in the world to effectively liquidate, to effectively airbrush away or to effectively snuff out the right to deliver at home" Mr LAMING in discussion Parliament.

 

 

 

Some interesting points from well known midwife and educator Ina May Gaskin.