Eight Queensland communities get maternity boost
EIGHT Queensland communities will have their maternity services bolstered by plans to expand midwifery group practices around the state.
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EIGHT Queensland communities will have their maternity services bolstered by plans to expand midwifery group practices around the state.
The new midwifery-led services mean expectant mothers will have continuity of care with the same midwife looking after them during their pregnancy, labour and after the child is born.
Innisfail, Mossman, Atherton, Emerald, Biloela, Gladstone, Bundaberg and Mackay have been named as the next locations to see the service set up.
The Mackay service will include Bowen, Moranbah, Dysart and Clermont.
The move follows a campaign by The Sunday Mailraising awareness of the desperate situation faced by rural and remote mums due to the closure of 40 country obstetric units in Queensland.
Queensland Nurse and Midwifery Union assistant secretary and midwife Sandra Eales said continuity of care was crucial.
“There’s really significant evidence around improved outcomes for mothers and babies from knowing midwives through pregnancy, birth and early transition to motherhood,” she said.
Health Minister Steven Miles said Queensland Health and the Union were working together to make the state the best place to have a baby. “Group practices help provide more focused and consistent care through pregnancy, labour, birth and for the early weeks of the baby’s life, providing reassurance for mums, and better outcomes,” he said.
Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said Chinchilla and Theodore would be a priority if the LNP won the next election.
PARAMEDIC SAVED MY NEWBORN
A CLERMONT mum of two says if it wasn’t for the quick thinking and expertise of a local paramedic her baby may not have lived.
Peta Costigan planned to give birth at Emerald Hospital, 112km away, but nature had other ideas.
“The ambulance arrived to take me to Emerald but I didn’t even make it out the front door,” Ms Costigan said.
“My labour was so much faster than it was with my first child and it took me by surprise.
“I lay on the loungeroom floor and was so lucky that the paramedic had delivered a baby before and she was calm and collected.
“The baby’s shoulder was in a very difficult position and the cord was wrapped around him. She managed to turn him and ease him out.”
Ms Costigan, who is expecting her third child, would love to see midwife care at Clermont.
Originally published as Eight Queensland communities get maternity boost
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