Dear all
Jan has summed it up in a nutshell - both the discrepancies and the
reasons why many home births go unreported...... we did a 'run' with
the national data a couple of months ago - and we were surprised to
find an even greater difference than this one you report Jan. The most
difficult thing is to reconcile the BD&M data with the perinatal
data - because there is such a long lead time between when the baby is
born and when parents have to register the birth (ie five years).
I agree with many of the midwives who do not risk
disclosure........until we are convinced there will be no burning at
the stake.......everyone is much safer staying silent.
There is SUCH a need for genuine recognition for what midwives do. We
are too vulnerable at present to risk being noticed in many
ways....... look at the flak we have received from RANCIDCOG and the
AMA for example when we've tried to offer an evidence based midwifery
service. We continue to jump through every conceivable hoop - but the
power is with the money , and until we have legislative rights , and
more importantly , until WOMEN have rights to seek the sort of care
they believe to be best for them and their babies, we will have to
remian silent (and strong!)
Sally T.
Jan Robinson wrote:
Hi
Andrea
Yes it is a huge discrepancy but the law only relates to births
attended by registered doctors or midwives. Registered health
professionals have an obligation to report the details of each birth
they attend whether they occur at home or in a hospital. They have to
provide the NOTIFICATION OF BIRTH to BD&M and submit the perinatal
data to the appropriate department of their Dept of Health. It is the
parents responsibility to register the birth of their child.
I assume that MOST of the unreported home births are that way because
lay people would be unaware of their state laws.
Individuals who are aware of the laws also understand that if they DO
report any births that they attend also run the risk of "holding
themselves out to be a midwife" and that is PUNISHABLE by law.
It would be interesting for midwives to approach their own
state/territory Dept of BD&M as to the number of babies registered
as
being born at their home address and then get the figures from the
perinatal data collections to compare.
Anyone want to get cracking in their state? I'd love to get data from
around the country. I have some Tasmanian figures and I have some
from Victoria but they are not as easy to interpret as the NSW data.
At the moment we are using the NSW figures to try and convince the
Health Minister to publicly fund the home births and therefore provide
a legitimate choice of skilled home birth practitioner for ALL women
wanting a home birth.
Cheers
Jan
Jan Robinson
Independent Midwife Practitioner
National Coordinator Australian Society of Independent Midwives
8 Robin Crescent South Hurstville NSW 2221 Phone/Fax: 02
9546 4350
e-mail address: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> website:
www.midwiferyeducation.com.au
On 15 Sep, 2005, at 08:23, Andrea Quanchi wrote:
Jan that is a huge discrepancy, How many of these ones
not
reported to Data Collection are attended by registered midwives do you
think? Surely the data collection could approach these people not
reporting, through the births deaths and marriages, through the
families that they are attending to cover the privacy issues,
informing them of their duty to report and where they can access the
data collection material. You wont get all of them but you might get
some more. Are they scared of being identified if they are not
registered? Maybe it needs to be free from this issue if you want the
data
Andrea
On 15/09/2005, at 7:58 AM, Jan Robinson wrote:
Hi Andrea, Denise et al
I have just been in touch with our Dept of Births Deaths and Marriages
again for an update on babies registered as being born at home. The
numbers change each year as there are some people who don't register
their child until they need to go to school so I get updates for each
year.
So far what we have in NSW is
actual number of home births registered number of PLANNED HOME
BIRTHS reported to perinatal data collection (NSW Midwives Data
Collection)
1999 493 139
2000 394 108
2001 388 144
2002 322 99
2003 383 109
2004 359 don't have the 2004 figures from NSWMD collection yet
- hope to have them soon - the BD&M are much more organised with
data
collection but I guess that is because they have motivated providers of
their data (the parents). Even though there
has been a law since the 1990s that states all doctors and midwives
who attend home births must submit their data - the NSWMD knows a lot
of health professionals fail to report. There
is no law that states unattended home births have to be reported to
the NSWMDC.
2005 to date 197
You can see there is quiet a difference in the records
I'd love some budding Master's student to get busy on this one as I
won't have time for it until I retire and that won't be until we get
the home births publicly funded across the country.
I feel sure that if primary care midwives had the medicare provider
number a lot of those unattended women would have a registered midwife
with them for the birth.
Cheers
Jan
Jan Robinson Independent Midwife Practitioner
National Coordinator Australian Society of Independent Midwives
8 Robin Crescent South Hurstville NSW 2221 Phone/Fax: 02
9546 4350
e-mail address: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> website:
www.midwiferyeducation.com.au
On 14 Sep, 2005, at
22:35, Andrea Quanchi wrote:
it doesnt say but they would be able to tell you.
They are
quite forethcoming with info or you may be able to get it from their
website as a lot of the past documents are on there. I havent got time
tonight to look
Andrea Q
On 14/09/2005, at 6:35 PM, Denise Hynd wrote:
Dear Andrea
Have these BBA births in Vic increased since the loss of MIPP insurance
and some midwives withdrawing from practice??
Jan Robinson said there was an increased in these births there
possibly some more un assisted hombirths in NSW over this period!!
She found this by comparing the midwife and birth notification figures
because the latter would include women who birthed at home and did not
go to hospital
Denise Hynd
"Let us support one another, not just in philosophy but in action, for
the sake of freedom for all women to choose exactly how and by whom,
if by anyone, our bodies will be handled."
- Linda Hes
----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrea Quanchi"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au>
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2005 4:17 PM
Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] perinatal stats
Unplanned out of hospital births (BBA) were 254
Andrea
On 14/09/2005, at 5:29 PM, Tania Smallwood wrote:
Just out of interest Andrea, what is the number
of bba's in
comparison?
Someone recently pointed out to me that if the women here in SA who
had a
quick labour and then didn't make it to the hospital, had had access
to a
midwife who could have come to their home, the number of 'homebirths'
would
have been nearly doubled. Funny how those women are seen as 'lucky'
and yet
the one's planning a birth at home attended by a midwife are 'stupid'!
Cheers
Tania
x
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of Andrea
Quanchi
Sent: Wednesday, 14 September 2005 4:41 PM
To: Maternity Coalition; ozmidwifery
Subject: [ozmidwifery] perinatal stats
I received my 2004 homebirths profile from VPDCU in the mail today and
was happy to see that the number of planned homebirths for 2004 was
181 up from 154 the year before and from 132 in 1999 so keep up the
good work everyone
Andrea Quanchi
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