Maternity Care Reform – We need it NOW. Governments, health services and maternity care experts are letting women down. While Australia does have a strategy for ensuring all women receive respectful maternity care, the strategy is yet to be implemented. Australia is yet to develop a strategy and targets to ensure all women receive best
Women’s rights are human rights! Women’s rights are human rights, yet too many women and girls are still denied their fundamental rights. Pregnant women pay with their bodies and their very lives. This is evidenced by the physical damage women experience, with one third of Australian women defining their birth as traumatic, some experiencing
International day of Indigenous peoples International days are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. Today is the International day of Indigenous peoples and we at Maternal Health Matters Inc. have a vision vision is
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; and use it for your antenatal visits. Choose the right health care provider – see Who provides maternity care in Australia? Your health professional options
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
