New maternity model offers midwife choice
Posted
Queensland Health says women will now be able to choose to have a midwife deliver their baby, under an innovative new plan to improve maternity services in south-west Queensland.
The Charleville Hospital is rolling out the new maternity model of care after consulting with local women.
The acting district director of nursing, Judy de la Cruz, says women want more choice and support after birth and the model is aimed at boosting local birth numbers.
"This model is very open to choice - there are a number of paths they can choose," she said.
"They can choose to stay with their general practitioner, they can choose to come and access the hospital doctors, they can choose a midwife if they want or they can choose to birth away and then access our care pre-birth and also post-birth."
Ms Cruz says midwives will be able to deliver babies and doctors are supportive of the plan.
"Actually they've been very receptive to it - there was some initial resistance but I guess what we have found is that everyone on the team is still needed - particularly in rural areas," she said.
"So while this might be a midwifery-led model of care, it also acknowledges that everyone on the team is vitally important to keep the services open in rural areas."
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