[ozmidwifery] birth environment

[Mary Murphy]

I can only speak of units in W.A. but I have often wondered about the impact of the current environment on both the midwives, the care we give, the birth outcomes and the women's satisfaction, no matter what the outcome.  By this I mean for instance:  At KEMH & most other birth units in W.A. ALL the delivery suites are "set up" for high risk births and that is what the women see both on the hospital tour and as soon as they walk into the room. Therre is a kind of expectancy about it.  The staff working in them are expected and are quite capable of giving both high risk & low risk care.  But, how does this kind of environment impact on both the staff and the women?  MM