I stole a bit from Rachael Austin .

Dear Nicola,

I am very disappointed to read about the proposed legislation that will essentially make it impossible to use the services of a private practicing midwife for a homebirth. With no Medicare benefits for homebirth services and no professional indemnity insurance for midwives, this will exclude me from accessing my preferred option for my next birth.

Effectively making homebirth illegal under the wise and skilled counsel of midwives reduces women?s choice of care provider and place of birth. Why outlaw private midwifery practice when research very clearly states that homebirth with a midwife is just as safe as a hospital birth? Why are you driving childbirth into a medically dominated model and high cost model of care? Hospitals do not make birth safer. Confining all women to this obstetric model of care is discriminatory and disrespects common belief that birth is a normal, natural and a safe part of life.

For my first child, I had to give birth via a scheduled caesarean section due to a medical complication ? placenta praevia. At the moment, we are considering trying to conceive a sibling for our daughter next year. After having done much research and spoken with my partner, a certified private midwife and a doula, we concluded that my next birth should be trialled at home. We would like our daughter to be present for the birth of her sibling and would like to welcome our second child into the warm and loving environment of our own home. Unless another medical complication arises during my pregnancy, I do not see why we should not be permitted to explore this option. We live in a Sydney suburb where there are skilled midwives who regularly attend homebirths in our area, plus we have the safety net of several good hospitals close by in the unlikely event that further assistance is needed. If I lived in the UK there would be no issue with my family choosing to welcome our child into the world in this way, so why is Australia treating its mothers in such a discriminatory manner?

The Australian government has come to the aid of obstetric surgeons to assist with indemnity insurance. Why won?t you do the same for midwives? I cannot understand being so neglectful of a woman?s right to choose with whom and where she gives birth, when there is clearly progress in other maternity policy in our country.

Legalise homebirth midwifery!

Sincerely,
Jennifer13 (not really - I put in my real name!)
Mother and homebirth hopeful