The humanistic approach - relationship based care New research is very relevant to maternity care where the focus on physical health and the baby dehumanises the mother treating her as a vessel or a baby-making machine. We love the concept of whole person care that recognises the multiple dimensions of personhood, sensitivity to another’s needs;
Your Body. Your Birth. Your Choice. We are pleased to inform you of our most recent project - the Your Body. Your birth. Your choice, video series. The series is based on the principles of Respectful Maternity Care. We aim to provide you with the knowledge to achieve respectful maternity care through supporting your capacity
Women value kindness “I was so in awe of the midwives and their kindness and skills and so supported by them in both birth and post birth care that I transitioned as smoothly as possible.” “My expectations were surpassed by my birth centre midwife, she was amazing, kind, compassionate and collaborative.” “A little less treating
What is kangaroo care and what are the benefits? Kangaroo Care is an evidence-based care strategy that is associated with improved short and long term neurodevelopmental outcomes for infants. Kangaroo mother care, which involves skin-to-skin contact with the mother/parent started as soon as possible after birth. Kangaroo care benefits all babies and has been shown
On this International Women's Day 2023 the campaign theme is embrace equity. Do you know that pregnancy and the transition to motherhood is a critical “tipping point” on the road to gender equity and therefore needs to be a crucial focus for policy makers. Getting it right during pregnancy and birth reduces downstream expenditure on
Birthing Work and Matrescence: The neglected aspect of maternity care The ANU Gender Institute and Maternal Health Matters Inc. invite you to join us online for the second of our seminar series that will explore the impact of maternity on women’s wellbeing and the transition to parenting. The health and wellbeing of mothers is critically
Do you know that whether a woman breastfeeds her baby—or not—can affect the lifelong health of both? Breastfeeding is the normal biological extension of pregnancy and childbirth. Women wear the emotional burden when they do not breast feed, yet often it is the over-medicalised maternity care systems that impact on breast feeding rates. Given the
Greetings from Maternal Health Matters. We hope you have all had a fruitful year. Read about our work over the past year. In 2023, MHM will continue our focus on the impact of disrespectful maternity care on maternal and newborn health, the role of midwives in maternal and reproductive health, and gender equity for childbearing women.
The story of Christmas, reminds us of the importance of mothers. Mary, as mother, is central to the Christmas story, without her there is no infant, no Christmas. Christmas is a poignant time to reflect on the pivotal role mothers have in growing and nurturing new life. As a society we need to honour this
Dignity is a foundational value It’s an interesting word ‘dignity’. Dignity is a foundational value in human rights, ethics, politics, philosophy and respectful maternity care. Dignity is a guiding value in medical ethics and features prominently in codes of medical ethics - the Declaration of Helsinki, the World Medical Association International Code of Medical Ethics.
