Independent Midwives The Answer To Cope With Baby Boom?

Australian birth rates are booming, and to handle the demand, the federal government is looking to expand midwifery care, giving licensed midwives more access to insurance, prescribing rights, and ability to get paid through public health subsidies even if they aren't working directly under a doctor's supervision. The goals of the review will also include "how to cut medical interventions such as caesarean sections and forceps deliveries. Alternative birth options will also be examined, including the
possibility for more home births."

Australia has comparatively low levels of home births and other midwife-led births, with just 0.2% of women giving birth at home compared to 2.5% of women in New Zealand and 1.9% in Britain.

Photo by salimfadhley.