The good, the bad and the possible: A public Lecture on the Strategic Directions for the Australian Maternity Services Plan Canberra Mothercraft Society and Western Sydney University hosted a free public lecture by Professor Hannah Dahlen AM, followed by an expert panel discussion on the way forward for the Australian Maternity Services plan. This public

Reconciliation Week - Actions to achieve an inclusive society Photo by Louise Kennerley MHM believes enacting the Uluru Statement is foundational to ‘closing the gap’. Please during Reconciliation Week read our Position Statement - Uluru Statement from the Heart

Reconciliation Week Actions to achieve better maternity outcomes Being only three per cent of the Australian population, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can’t raise the profile of important issues without our support. We at Maternal Health Matters want to see the all pregnant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander receive Respectful Maternity Care informed by

Happy Mother’s Day This mother’s day we draw attention to our concerns for mothers. As a society until we value childbearing, acknowledging that a woman having a baby provides a community good at significant personal cost, nothing will change.  With so much resting on a mother’s shoulders, it is vital she is given the support

The Mother’s Tale - Women’s Experiences of Maternity Care in Australia From 1 July 2020 to 30 October 2020, Maternal Health Matters Inc. (formerly Safe Motherhood for All Inc.) hosted a survey about women’s experiences of maternity care and the impact of their experience. The survey was open to any woman who had given birth

Women’s evaluation of their birth experiences analysed by means of word frequency and thematic analysis Given the significance of the birth experience on women’s and babies’ well-being, assessing and understanding maternal satisfaction is important for providing optimal care. The aim of this study was to explore through a gender perspective the circumstances attributed to both

Caesarean section in pregnancies conceived by assisted reproductive technology The odds of delivering by caesarean section are greater for IVF/ART singleton pregnancies compared to spontaneous conceptions. As access to IVF/ART has increased worldwide, there is a need to determine why caesarean sections are more common following ART than in spontaneous conceptions, and how these rates

Waterbirth An English retrospective cohort study of factors associated with its use among women in England This study, found there was no association between waterbirth and specific adverse outcomes for either the mother or the baby. There was evidence that white women from higher socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to be recorded as giving birth

Respect in maternity care. Every pregnant woman deserves to be respected, valued and treated equally. Respectful relationships are about embedding a culture of respect and equality across our maternity services, starting with education in universities.  We know that changes in attitudes and behaviours can be achieved when positive attitudes, compassionate behaviours and equality are embedded

Reducing stress in pregnancy Pregnant mothers’ stress during pregnancy can disadvantage their babies, but it’s not inevitable. This article discusses flood related stress though the lessons on how to relieve stress are relevant to all pregnancies, though. Here’s what we can do. There are two main types of stress. Objective stress is what happens to