World Breastfeeding Week 2021 This year’s theme, Protect breastfeeding: a shared responsibility, focuses on how breastfeeding is an important contributor to the survival, health and wellbeing of all. This year we would like to highlight that maternity care impacts on breastfeeding success and those who provide maternity care share the responsibility to support the new
Thinking about your birth choices Choosing the right birth option can be difficult, now a new resource aims to make that easier. We know that where a woman chooses to give birth and who will provide her maternity care have the greatest impact on birth outcomes. We want all women to receive appropriate and respectful
Three ways to ensure you receive safe, quality maternity care Three ways to ensure you receive maternity care based on the best available current evidence. Know what evidence based care is - see The Pregnancy Care Checklist – Australia and use it for your antenatal visits. Choose the right health care provider – see Who
Right Birth, Your Choice We are pleased to present Right Birth Your Choice, a video which informs women on the options available for a safe pregnancy, birth and transition to motherhood. The decisions that have the greatest impact on birth outcomes are where a woman chooses to give birth and who will provide her maternity care. Making the right choice is
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
