Midwife's Insurance Crisis

Home births in Australia have almost always been provided without indemnity insurance, even for Registered Midwives. For a brief period in history, registered Midwives were provided with indemnity insurance through Guild Insurance. This changed in 2001 when after a landmark obstetric birth injury case proving a payout of $11 million, Guild Insurance withdrew their cover for private Registered Midwives (despite this birth injury case being brought against an obstetrician and involved the administration of the synthetic labour hormone – syntocinon). This was purely an economic decision on the part of Guild Insurance – there simply wasn’t a big enough pool of private Midwives (less than 200) to pay premiums that would cover such a large payout should one of them be sued. This withdrawal of indemnity insurance saw many Registered Midwives in the home birth scene hang up their stethoscopes and cease practicing home births. There were several brave Midwives who soldiered on regardless and provided care to women who sought it. While Midwives were left without insurance, the Federal Government stepped in and funded insurance for obstetricians and other medical practitioners (which continues today with over $900 million of tax-payers money being spent to date). What has changed now, is that if the proposed new laws come into effect in July 2010, it will be illegal for a Registered Midwife to attend a home birth without insurance. Practically, for women seeking home birth, this means that their choice of how to achieve their desire has been severely restricted. It is a violation of a woman’s basic right to birth where she chooses and with whom she chooses. At the present, a woman seeking a home birth has 3 choices – to have a free birth (no professional birth worker); a birth with a traditional birth attendant/Midwife/Birth Worker; or to choose a Registered Midwife to help her achieve her desire for a home birth. As of July 2010, her choice will be restricted to the first two. For many women it will not be an issue until the Government turns its attention to hunting traditional Birth Workers. And it will – do not think that if the Government gets away with outlawing Registered Midwives attending home births that their attention will stop there. Soon a woman’s choice will be restricted to only the first option. And then they will start prosecuting parents for child abuse for choosing a free birth.

The new laws are also a violation of a Registered Midwives right to practice their profession in the speciality they have chosen. Many Midwives – some with more than 25 years experience providing home births – have been told that their profession is soon to become illegal, and they are simply meant to stop. This is an extremely bitter pill to swallow, seeing as many of these Midwives view the hospital system as wholly inadequate to provide quality care for birthing women. The distress that they suffered while witnessing the abuse of many women within the system was what drove them to practice outside of the system and in the home in the first place. Whichever way you view the new legislation – it is a violation of basic human rights – a violation of WOMEN’S RIGHTS – and I wonder at the conscious of Nicola Roxon – a woman – blatantly denying women their rights. This view is shared by Homebirth Australia who see this as a breach of basic human rights and possibly a contravention of Convention of the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Regardless of whether you would or would not have a home birth, and regardless of whether you would choose a Registered Midwife to assist you or not, ALL women should be concerned that such serious and discriminatory laws could be passed in 2010. Please let your voice be heard

Websites with more information
http://www.savehomebirth.com.au
http://www.joyousbirth.info
www.homebirthaustralia.org
www.maternitycoalition.org.au



Things you can do
Below is a standard list of the action being taken by women right around Australia. Before you visit the sites and write your letters, I ask that you read what I have to say in “is insurance necessary?” the letters I have submitted do not ask for insurance to be provided for home birth midwives, but for home birth midwives to be exempt from the law requiring insurance for practice. Please be careful what you ask for in your submissions, and please do not denigrate other women’s choices (such as free birth) and the wonderful work of traditional Midwives who are not registered. Remember what we are fighting for here – a woman’s right to choose where she births and whom she asks to be her support team. We are not fighting for Registered Midwives to be the only legal option for a woman who chooses to home birth. (Which is what will happen if the government acts on what many submissions are saying – and that is ‘birth is unsafe without a Registered Midwife’.) We are fighting for birth with a Registered Midwife to remain an option. I say this because much media attention has been given to the angle that “women and babies will die without the presence of a Registered Midwife.” This is not only untrue, it is an insult to traditional Midwives and those informed women who choose to freebirth. Let’s fight, let’s stick together, but let’s also be careful of what we are saying.


Write a letter to your local State MP. Your letter can be short –a couple of paragraphs would be fine. Please attach Maternity Coalition’s brief on homebirth. Email saranest@maternitycoalition.org.au for a copy.
In your letter you might like to say whether you’ve birthed at home or not, and why you are concerned about women losing the option of birthing at home with a qualified midwife. Ask them directly what they will do to protect mums and their babies. Also ask them for a meeting.
Please write and say that they need to find a way for midwives to be able to provide homebirth care after the new regulation system starts on 1 July 2010. You don't need to sound like an expert, just tell them that it matters to you.
MPs who are members of Cabinet are particularly important. Maternity Coalition would like for every single Cabinet member to receive our brief on the issue of national registration (homebirth).

Write to your Federal MP and Senators find out who your Federal MP is here https://oevf.aec.gov.au/
You could probably send the same letter (remember to change the names though!) to both your State and Federal MP. Again, please attach Maternity Coalition’s brief and ask them directly what they will do to protect mothers and babies.
Three Bills have been introduced to Commonwealth Parliament to implement the Government's maternity reform agenda. These Bills give Medicare and subsidised insurance to eligible midwives - a huge breakthrough for Australian women. The problem is that the Government doesn't intend the insurance to cover homebirths, at this stage.
Because some politicians are worried about this homebirth insurance issue, a Senate Committee is investigating. This Committee needs to hear it loud and clear that homebirth matters as a choice for Australian women.
Please write to our Senators and tell them how much women's right to choose homebirth matters to you.

Attend the rally in front of Parliament House in Canberra on 7 September. Homebirth Australia needs at least a couple of thousand people to attend to make an impact on the politicians. This means YOU need to get there. If you cannot physically get there, your virtual presence will speak volumes. Check out their website for more details http://www.homebirthaustralia.org