PBB Media, Maternity Advocacy Program, ADD YOUR VOICE Campaign.
PBB Media and its founding members have been engaged in Maternity Advocacy locally and nationally for over ten years. We have an ongoing commitment to representing consumers in our area of Northern NSW and beyond that, in supporting maternity consumers across Australia. The ADD YOUR VOICE Campaign was created as a response to the growing and very vocal concerns from the many consumers we are in communication with on a daily basis. Over the years we have spoken to, interviewed, connected with and represented thousands of consumers both from our local area and from across the country.
What do empowered Professionals think?
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Why do we say empowered? After speaking with hundreds of Healthcare professionals over the past few years, we have come to understand that many of them feel trapped by the system they work in and unable to speak directly about specific issues, especially when it comes to maternity care. We have however, come across many who have the experience, capacity and willingness to speak about the difficult topics and have an open and reflective conversation about the state of maternity care in Australia.
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Consumers not only foot the bill financially speaking, but they also pay the long term price of unnecessary interventions.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/birt.12442?fbclid=IwAR0GwCF9ml8ddDJmsQbRleFbEU4ZEZkZifispjDN3cLfagKJysXePday8YI
Relationship-based care.
Serious concerns about consumer rights.
There is an ongoing and dangerous trend in our Australian maternity healthcare culture, mitigating consumers access to choice. This can and does manifest in many ways. A general lack of education and/or understanding by medical professionals, professional bodies and even government officials is confusing the issue further. Aspects such as Informed Consent, especially in Maternity and Consumer Rights, especially in designing appropriate healthcare are either ignored, misinterpreted and sometimes deliberately misrepresented by the healthcare industry. There are also major misconception of what Continuity of Care, specifically during maternity, means. Even the words 'model of care' are being used to define a bigger picture aspect of maternity care, not so much the actual model of care. We know that hospital policies, intrinsically designed around insurance policies and funding structures make it more and more difficult for consumers to access a variety of healthcare models, especially when the model they are after does not exist nearby where they live. Deficient record keeping in the area of Maternity care makes it impossible for the consumer voice to be clearly heard, let alone understood and professional bodies in Australia trying to understand the consumer voice often have conflicting interests and therefor cannot truly represent consumers.
All our peek Australian maternity-specific consumer representing bodies are united in their stance on Midwifery-Led continuity of Care - we all agree that the consumers we have spoken to, want access to better maternity care - including the option to have access to Midwifery-Led Continuity of Care. Australian families, parents, mothers, fathers, expectant parents and their wider support teams, unequivocally, could not be any clearer - you just need to listen.
Human Rights in Childbirth and maternity care are a tricky arena, but regardless of any competing interests - healthcare needs to always be consumer-centric, that is, placing the consumer at the centre of decision making - whether you agree with their choices or not.
Consumers not only foot the bill financially speaking, but they also pay the long term price of unnecessary interventions - the quality of maternity care will have an impact physiologically, emotionally, psychologically individually but also within families and their wider communities. Healthcare services all have a duty to those in their care (and arguably to those in immediate contact with them, such as their babies and partners) and governments have a duty to enforce the rights of people* over any outdated cultural practices in existing healthcare.
All our peek Australian maternity-specific consumer representing bodies are united in their stance on Midwifery-Led continuity of Care - we all agree that the consumers we have spoken to, want access to better maternity care - including the option to have access to Midwifery-Led Continuity of Care. Australian families, parents, mothers, fathers, expectant parents and their wider support teams, unequivocally, could not be any clearer - you just need to listen.
Human Rights in Childbirth and maternity care are a tricky arena, but regardless of any competing interests - healthcare needs to always be consumer-centric, that is, placing the consumer at the centre of decision making - whether you agree with their choices or not.
Consumers not only foot the bill financially speaking, but they also pay the long term price of unnecessary interventions - the quality of maternity care will have an impact physiologically, emotionally, psychologically individually but also within families and their wider communities. Healthcare services all have a duty to those in their care (and arguably to those in immediate contact with them, such as their babies and partners) and governments have a duty to enforce the rights of people* over any outdated cultural practices in existing healthcare.
*The Special Rapporteur is an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to help States, and others, promote and protect the right to the highest attainable standard of health (right to health).
Australia is lagging behind international standards in Maternal healthcare.
As we know, New Zealand has a progressive and responsive (capable of responding to their citizens unique concerns) government in place. The New Zealand Ministry for Health's policies on maternal healthcare are very clear. Australian maternal policy discussion, on the other hand is convoluted and confusing to the consumer. It is unclear
What are some of the specific issues surrounding access to MLCoC in Australia
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What are some of the other main concerns surrounding maternity care?
Lack of access to Midwifery-Led Continuity of Care models are, clearly, not the only issues Australian families face when accessing maternity healthcare.
Consumers are not at the heart of healthcare provision even though they are meant to be.
In 2010 a comprehensive and well through out plan was devised for maternity care in Australia. in 2015, when a review was scheduled, it became apparent that hardly any healthcare providers bothered to implement the plan and if they did, it was tokenistic. .........
In 2010 a comprehensive and well through out plan was devised for maternity care in Australia. in 2015, when a review was scheduled, it became apparent that hardly any healthcare providers bothered to implement the plan and if they did, it was tokenistic. .........
Media coverage
Coverage of maternity and maternity healthcare in mainstream media here in Australia and internationally had been damaging at best and outright amoral at its worst. This makes it very difficult for the public and professionals to access accurate and balanced information. We take a non-sensationalist and diverse approach to ensuring information is delivered accurately and with the consumer agenda at the heart of the conversation.
Coverage of maternity and maternity healthcare in mainstream media here in Australia and internationally had been damaging at best and outright amoral at its worst. This makes it very difficult for the public and professionals to access accurate and balanced information. We take a non-sensationalist and diverse approach to ensuring information is delivered accurately and with the consumer agenda at the heart of the conversation.
Human rights in childbirth
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Risk aversion and concepts and perception of risk in maternity care
Pathways to access care
Pathways for choice are limited... funding models.... consumers can only access some of the choices some of the time and only a limited scenario is available to most consumers. Closure of remote and rural services has been detrimental to communities. Closure of successful community-based services (midwives first)
Pathways for choice are limited... funding models.... consumers can only access some of the choices some of the time and only a limited scenario is available to most consumers. Closure of remote and rural services has been detrimental to communities. Closure of successful community-based services (midwives first)
Geographical considerations
Australia is a large country and it is challenging offering the same variety of choice to every single maternity consumer across the whole of the country. In larger cities it is more viable to offer variety and more choice while as very small communities, especially if remote have to contend with narrow or no choice nearby where they live. In maternity care, having access close to home matters a lot!
Australia is a large country and it is challenging offering the same variety of choice to every single maternity consumer across the whole of the country. In larger cities it is more viable to offer variety and more choice while as very small communities, especially if remote have to contend with narrow or no choice nearby where they live. In maternity care, having access close to home matters a lot!
Iatrogenic harm
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Overdiagnosis
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Obstetric Violence
This is a difficult term for those providing obstetric care. And it should be. ...
an article from Birth Monopoly
This is a difficult term for those providing obstetric care. And it should be. ...
an article from Birth Monopoly
“historical gendering of medicine prioritises particular types of knowledge (and ways of producing that knowledge), and creates barriers for critical, and specifically feminist, research and practice”. Feminist and other critical perspectives enable researchers to question the underlying assumptions that produce and maintain social hierarchies, and in doing so, imagine ways to transform fields and practices to make them more equitable and inclusive."
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- Malika Sharma
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Why maternity is intrinsically a Women's Rights issue.
It has been a routine and unforgivable aspect of women's advocacy work, to downplay and sometimes downright ignore, the perinatal period of a woman's life, oftentimes diminishing it to blaming sources that Endevour to support them the most. We believe that not only is this phase of a women's experience vital, it is pivotal to her bodily autonomy and agency as a mother and woman. Beyond that, the imprint of a woman's maternity experience, impacts those in various circles - her children, her partner, her wider family members and her community.
We are concerned with not for profit organisations popping up in the past few years, claiming to represent maternity consumers and advocate for their rights, such as cope.org.au who's board is primarily male and who notify consumers that the experience of labour and childbirth itself doesn't matter - that all that matters is a healthy baby. They also heavily encourage consumers to do as they are told by their healthcare provider. Statements which promote the interests of healthcare providers over the inherent rights of consumers to self-determination and informed consent do not only misrepresent the situation but are also dangerous:
"No matter what happens, or how close or far your birth experience ends up being from your ideals or your birth plan – the focus is to safely deliver your baby (or babies) – and work with the health professionals to make this happen" and "Be guided by your health professional. Focus on following their direction."
Then there are more heavily funded and fancy looking organisations who discuss serious maternity issues such as birth trauma without representing the many reasons why this trauma may take place in the first place. Consumers representing their interests under the guise of protecting the wellbeing and integrity of consumers, all the while withholding evidence of practices and care that could have prevented these traumatic events in the first place makes it very difficult for the consumer to understand and unravel their experiences.
"No matter what happens, or how close or far your birth experience ends up being from your ideals or your birth plan – the focus is to safely deliver your baby (or babies) – and work with the health professionals to make this happen" and "Be guided by your health professional. Focus on following their direction."
Then there are more heavily funded and fancy looking organisations who discuss serious maternity issues such as birth trauma without representing the many reasons why this trauma may take place in the first place. Consumers representing their interests under the guise of protecting the wellbeing and integrity of consumers, all the while withholding evidence of practices and care that could have prevented these traumatic events in the first place makes it very difficult for the consumer to understand and unravel their experiences.
The history of maternity care has been clouded with misconceptions.
https://theconversation.com/most-women-give-birth-in-hospital-but-its-got-more-to-do-with-world-war-ii-than-health-110647?fbclid=IwAR1u3vwP5_s_pOehmhOkcdvHw9V_0R_DPJl55jMAZDrLHoQvwipNkkd7kig