Shame on all of us for allowing disrespectful maternity care to happen. Birth is simultaneously a time for extraordinary joy and a time of intense vulnerability, when women may emerge triumphant or may need the strength of others to see it through. We in Australia need to rediscover pregnancy and birth as a family joy
Vulnerability has two faces. While worrying on the one hand, it can be freeing and powerful on the other. Pregnancy is a time of vulnerability for women. Brene Brown, a Social Researcher in the area of vulnerability and shame defines vulnerability as “uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure.” Those who have the good fortune to spend
"To do things right, first you need love, then technique." Antonio Gaudi Gaudi is not talking about romantic love he is talking about compassionate love. That is love that is grounded in connection, commitment, and duty. What a pertinent reflection for all maternity care providers. In maternity care, women require caregivers to provide compassion or
Having a baby in Australia: Women’s Business, Risky Business, or Big Business? This paper has examined the business of having a baby in Australia. It explore the haphazard impact of existing maternity service arrangements and interests on women. It emphasizes the importance of considering gender equity issues and social determinants of health when comparing disparate
Birth Time: the Documentary - Canberra viewing Great news! Maternal Health Matters Inc. is hosting a special, one-time screening of the film Birth Time: the Documentary. The documentary explores how more women could emerge from their births physically well and emotionally safe. Date: 4pm Saturday 3 July 2021 Venue: Palace Electric Cinema - 2 Phillip
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
