Home birth group seeks action

Press, 23 October 1984, Page 4

Home birth group seeks action

The Home Birth Association plans to take the Government up on an election promise for an expanded domiciliary midwife service. The co-ordinator of the Christchurch Home Birth Association, Mrs Allison Locke, said last evening that a discussion paper outlining ideas for a bigger service was being prepared. - The Labour Party had said in its election manifesto that it supported the option of planned home birth and therefore the need for an expanded domiciliary midwife service, she said. It also said that present gynaecological and other health services would be assessed. ,

The association was seeking equal representation in such a review with other Srofessional bodies such as le New Zealand Medical Association and the Nurses’ Association, she said. The paper being prepared for the Minister of Health, Dr Bassett, would be circulated to all branches of the association in about two weeks. The paper would present the association’s view of how the domiciliary midwife service could be expanded. It was similar to a union award, and outlined the general conditions under which midwives should work in New Zealand. A minimum and maximum case load for

midwives would ensure they were not overworked, but earned enough to make a decent living. At the moment there was no strict guideline for domiciliary midwives under the Health Department’s regulations, said Mrs Locke. The department should provide more equipment for midwives, she said. The Home Birth Association now paid for most of the instruments and equipment. In smaller centres, such as Timaru, where there was not enough work to keep a midwife busy, they should be allowed to work parttime in hospitals, said Mrs . Locke.

This depended on the attitude of the local hospital

board, she said. It was successfully done in Manawatu, but not in Canterbury. Although midwives had recently had a 17 per cent pay increase, this still meant they could earn a maximum of only $9500 per annum, so the association intended to suggest an improved pay system, she said. This week was National Home Birth Week and Mrs Locke said the Christchurch branch had planned a dis-; play in the Canterbury Public Library and publicity to promote home births. Home births were becoming increasingly popular and the expected total for Christchurch this year was about 70, 10 more than last year, she said.