" Obviously scary rubbish makes better news than truthful lovely births."
I think you are SO right there. It seems to me that viewing birth as a disaster just waiting to happen, even if it is a "normal" birth, is Dr Giltrap's problem. Plus, I'm still trying to understand what he meant by: "Dr Giltrap claimed Australian midwives were not as well trained as their European counterparts and Australian standards were often higher than those in Europe." There is a resolution by EU which states how many hours of what midwives have to have, and I doubt that it is more than you have in Australia. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Janet Fraser Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2005 6:22 AM To: ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] Fw: 'Higher risk' in midwife deliveries (http://theaustralian.com.au report) Rachel (welcome btw!) I hear everything you're saying and I concur. It's so transparently about a professional monopoly but their own brilliant misinformation campaign is so entwined with our current cultural fears around normal physiological birth that very little gets into the media to contradict it. Of course what I really want is for them to have to answer how all the guff they spout really stands up against the research but the seven second soundbite only allows long enough for scare tactics, not evidence. It's interesting to me that in many years of writing letters to SMH and The Age, I have never had one published on birth issues. I've got quite a track record on political issues of other kinds, but not even the most benign letter on home birth or midwifery has made it into their publications. Obs and midwives get published a bit but very rarely consumers. I sent letters to every major paper plus regionals for Home Birth Awareness Week last year, and not one was published. That's a lot of editors making the same decision. Obviously scary rubbish makes better news than truthful lovely births. Food for thought! J -- 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.
