Pregnant Queensland choosing home birth over public hospitals during Covid
With Omicron running rampant across the state, Covid-positive pregnant woman are resorting to drastic and often risky measures to avoid having to give birth alone in the state’s smashed public hospitals.
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Covid positive pregnant women are so afraid of having their babies in public hospitals they are planning free births at home with no medical help or offering $5000 on the spot to private midwives to assist them.
Maternity consumer bodies report that some Queensland hospitals are not allowing women who are confirmed cases to have a partner or birth support person with them during labour, fuelling stress and forcing women to scramble for birthing alternatives.
Queensland Health insists they are not aware of any woman having to birth alone and that in some Covid cases, partners may require an exemption.
But both the Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union and private midwives are demanding clarification from Queensland Health of the rules around Covid positive women having support partners during birth after receiving feedback of problems.
Queensland Health insists they are not aware of any woman having to birth alone but that in some confirmed Covid cases, partners may require an exemption.
The managing director of My Midwives, one of Australia’s largest private midwifery practices, Liz Wilkes said all the clinics were overwhelmed with calls from highly anxious women who were very worried about catching the virus and what would happen in hospital once they were a confirmed case.
“I am very worried about the women who say they will go it alone and free birth at home rather than go to hospital. Free birthing with no medical help is dangerous and if a woman is Covid positive it is even more worrying. Covid can turn bad very fast in pregnancy,” the midwife said.
Ms Wilkes said the level of stress was unprecedented and that My Midwives had employed extra midwives to try to cope with the demand.
“We have long waiting lists and women are calling every day sobbing down the phone asking for our help. We are doing our best. Pregnancy is already a time of high anxiety but the rising cases of Covid in the community is naturally a big concern,” she said.
The Maternity Consumer Network’s Alecia Staines said the network is being bombarded with women who are fearful they won’t have partners at the birth.
“We know this is happening across hospitals in Queensland to women who are Covid positive, despite it contradicting the World Health Organisation recommendations and denying basic human rights during a very vulnerable time,” she said.
“Women are scrambling to find options that allow them support, which has included offering midwives as much as $5000 dollars to support women at homebirth. Women are so desperate they are happy to clear out their bank accounts to have their baby at home but sadly private midwives are overwhelmed at this time too,” Ms Staines said.
A Queensland Health spokesman said that Queensland hospitals strive to make sure very woman is able to give birth with a partner or support person.
“We are not aware of any instances where Covid-positive women have given birth alone. In some cases, partners or other people supporting confirmed cases may require an exemption to be present for the birth as outlined in the Chief Health Officer Directions. Each case is assessed by the treating team according to the risk it presents the woman, the support person, hospital staff, and other patients, he said.
When Health Minister Yvette D’Ath announced a change to rules around visitors in hospital settings earlier this week she said that while visitor numbers were being limited there would be exceptions made for maternity wards.
Ipswich mum Tanisha Gibson is 17 weeks pregnant with her second pandemic baby.
“This pregnancy is different as there are so many cases of Covid around and there is a much higher chance of getting it. It’s a stressful time. But one of the most important things for me in my births is having my partner there with me and I’m sure that is the case for many other women,” she said.
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