I think the Sydney Morning Herald would be a good place to send a letter as it will reach more people. email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] All letters and emails must include the senders home address and day and evening phone numbers for verification as well as being no more than 200 words - Good luck. Jo
----- Original Message ----- From: "Jo Bourne" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, March 01, 2004 9:32 PM Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] The best news...! > As a consumer where is a letter best sent in support of this news? To Mary Chiarella? If so does any one have an address? > > thanks > Jo > > At 3:37 +1100 1/3/04, Andrea Robertson wrote: > >From the Sydney Morning Herald today..... > > > >--------------- > > > > > >Publicly funded home births for healthy women on agenda > > > >By Julie Robotham, Medical Editor > >March 1, 2004 > ><http://www.smh.com.au/cgi-bin/common/popupPrintArticle.pl?path=/articles/2 004/02/29/1077989435235.html>Print this article > ><http://www.smh.com.au/cgi-bin/common/popupEmailArticle.pl?path=/articles/2 004/02/29/1077989435235.html>Email to a friend > > > >Women would be able to give birth at home in the care of midwives employed by NSW Health under a radical proposal being considered by the department. > > > >The state's chief nursing officer, Mary Chiarella, confirmed that publicly funded home births for healthy women without medical complications were on the agenda. > > > >It would mark the first time NSW public maternity patients could have their babies outside hospital. At present, women who want to give birth at home have to employ a midwife privately, with no Medicare rebate - and most private midwives no longer carry insurance after last year's indemnity crisis. Only a handful of NSW women take this option. > > > >But Professor Chiarella said: "There's no doubt there is a significant consumer drive for home birth. It's about understanding that birth can be a very healthy process." > > > >In New Zealand, home deliveries are routine - accounting for more than 10 per cent of births - while there are limited public home birth services in Western Australia and South Australia. > > > >In NSW, Professor Chiarella said, home birth midwives might be managed centrally by the department, or could be attached to hospitals or area health services. The possible arrangements would be outlined for public consultation later this year. > > > >Lesley Barclay, director of the Centre for Family Health and Midwifery at the University of Technology, Sydney, said a hospital was still the safest place to give birth when there was a known risk of a medical problem. But for healthy mothers, the risks of having their baby in hospital might outweigh the benefits. > > > >Professor Barclay said the move towards home births internationally was an acknowledgement not just of mothers' preferences, but of "hospitals and health services that can no longer sustain the cost of high-intervention births when they're not necessary". > > > >There has been increasing pressure on birth services across NSW, especially in rural and regional areas where many specialist GPs and obstetricians have stopped delivering babies in response to rising insurance premiums and workloads. > > > >Professor Chiarella said working parties - including departmental managers and lawyers, doctors, midwives and consumer advocates - would examine how home births could be offered safely and equitably. > >---------------------------- > > > >This is the best news we have had for some time. Congratulations to everyone who has worked so hard on this! > > > >Regards > > > >Andrea > > > >----- > >Andrea Robertson > >Birth International * ACE Graphics * Associates in Childbirth Education > > > >e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >web: www.birthinternational.com > > > > > >-- > >This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. > >Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. > > > -- > Jo Bourne > Virtual Artists Pty Ltd > -- > This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. > Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. > -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
