Principles for maternity care – Still relevant in 2021 Maternity care should be evidence-based and woman-centred, and acknowledge pregnancy, birth and parenting as significant life events for women. Woman-centred maternity care is responsive to women’s needs and preferences, and enables them to access objective, evidence-based information that supports informed choices about their maternity care. Woman-centred

Why have Plan for Birth? Maternity care in Australia includes antenatal, childbirth and postnatal care for women and their babies. A Plan for Birth is a documented record of you preferences for your maternity care. Trust is essential as your experience of maternity care will influence the outcomes of your birth, the success of your

Cultural Safety – Respect and Dignity We are often asked why cultural safety is an important part of respectful maternity care. Cultural safety incorporates physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual well-being. A commonly used definition of cultural safety is that of Williams (1999) who defined cultural safety as: an environment that is spiritually, socially and emotionally

Please do not let women down. To exclude maternity from any plan to support women’s reproductive rights  is remiss. To write a paper on action on gender equality and not to include maternity is at best not respectful of mothers and the work they do and at worst negligent. A woman carrying a child provides

First Class Maternity Care in Australia It’s a political choice. Political decisions can and do impact on economic & social inequities faced by women, through policies that shape maternity care.  Knowing what we now know, to continue with the current status quo is to provide less than optimal maternity care to the childbearing women of

One of the smartest investments a society can make is to foster the health of its mothers. Healthy mothers raise healthier children, which boosts the productivity and stability of communities and economies. One area that can contribute significantly to health is a focus on maternity care and infant health. A healthy, strong and confident mother

Core practices for antenatal care The core practices in pregnancy care are based directly on the content of the Pregnancy Care Guidelines and include key information such as recommendations, information on tests and practice summaries.  While intended for health professionals, they are very useful for pregnant women. They can be found at: Core practices in pregnancy care

Having the birth you want! To have the birth you want the two big decisions that have to be made are: Where you are going to give birth? and Who is going to provide your maternity care? The biggest impact on your birth outcomes will be where you decide to birth and who will provide

Women are not the problem – they are the solution We call on governments and maternity care providers to refocus the maternity care discussion. Women are often made out to be the problem in maternity care. This causes suffering both physically and mentally for women. A Problem is something we do understand and thus we

What is the progress on the implementation of the national strategy Women Centred Care: Strategic Directions for Australian maternity services. Please sign and share this letter to your local member. We want to know a status report on the implementation of the national policy Women Centred Care: Strategic Directions for Australian maternity services. The strategy seeks improve maternity care