Home birth group tells of concern

Press, 30 November 1983, Page 24

Home birth group tells of concern

Parliamentary reporter The New Zealand Home Birth Association feels that amendments to the nursing legislation discriminate against domiciliary midwives and have no rational basis. This was the heart of its submissions to Parliament’s Health and Welfare Select Committee considering the Nurses Amendment Bill. “We are concerned that these amendments will aggravate the shortage of domiciliary midwives and further erode the opportunities for parents to exercise their legal right to choose where to have their baby,” the association said. The association challenged the bill on three grounds:

• Midwives who were registered and practising in hospitals, and who did not have the qualifications outlined in the bill but had been trained under the old midwifery programme, would not be able to take up domiciliary midwifery.

© The medical officer of health could unilaterally impose an order prohibiting a nurse from carrying out obstetric nursing where he suspects any such nurse to be practising in an unhygienic manner.

® The wording of the bill left the pos.ition of overseastrained midwives, who had been trained in a programme not involving general nursing training and who were applying for New

Zealand registration, unclear. This particular category of midwife might not be able to register in New Zealaand.

The association suggested that a number of amendments should be made to the proposed legislation.

Parliament should be seen to be concerned about the shortage of domiciliary midwives and the resulting restrictions on parents’ legal rights to choose the place of birth. Present provisions for discipline of midwives who were practising in an unprofessional manner were sufficient, said the association. There was no reason to believe that further restrictions and supervisory powers were needed.

This would be even more the case if the Health Department would take more positive steps to ensure that the supply of responsible and suitably trained midwives met the demand.

The association predicted that the resurgence of interest in home birth was not a passing trend, but a genuine and intelligent attempt on the part of many parents to improve the quality of life for the newborn and themselves. “Home birth is here to stay and deserves to be encouraged,” it said.

The association was anxious to establish a co-opera-tive and responsible working relationship with the department and the health professionals.