Sunshine Coast Health and Hospital Service launches Queensland's first publicly funded home births
The Sunshine Coast will provide Queensland’s first ever publicly funded home birth program and expectant mums are signing up to have their babies outside a hospital setting.
Sunshine Coast
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The Sunshine Coast will provide Queensland’s first publicly funded home birth program, giving women the opportunity to have babies in their own homes safely with the support of a medical team.
A team of obstetricians, midwives, medical staff and maternity patients is preparing for the start of the new publicly funded homebirth service on the Sunshine Coast.
Queensland Health is taking expressions of interest for the service, which begins in mid-2024, following the state government announcement in November last year.
The service will be offered to women who meet agreed clinical criteria and live within a safe travel distance to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
The multidisciplinary team has been preparing for the homebirth service through simulations to ensure frontline health staff know what to do to support women to safely have a home birth.
Abby Meyer, of Little Mountain, who is due to have her first child in July, would be one of the first women to have a publicly funded home birth in Queensland.
“I never thought that home births would be an option for me,” she said.
“It’s just so great that we’re bringing this to Queensland and the Sunshine Coast and that we’re giving women more options for birth.
“It’s allowing women to birth in the safety of their own homes and feel comfortable and feel supported by the wonderful hospital we have here.
“I’m really looking forward to birth. It’s not a scary thing. Women are made for birth.
“Its empowering for women to be given more choices.”
Expressions of interest for a homebirth recently opened ahead of the start of the service in the second half of 2024.
Health Minister Shannon Fentiman launched the service at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital this morning, Friday, April 5.
She said women’s health and maternity had always been a priority for her.
“Women told me they wanted three things from the maternity service in Queensland,” she said.
“They wanted choice, they wanted continuity of care, and they wanted it close to home.
“We have 10 women already booked in with this service … and 27 other women who have expressed interest in having their baby at home.”
Ms Fentiman said safety frameworks were in place with the Queensland Ambulance Service if something went wrong during a home birth.
“We hope to take those learnings (from the Sunshine Coast pilot program) and make this available across Queensland,” she said.
“It was fantastic to meet some of our incredibly skilled and dedicated healthcare workers, and our mums and bubs on the Sunshine Coast who have played a major role in developing this Queensland-first home birth service.
“Providing more choices and support for women to make informed decisions about their maternity care is so important for their birthing experience.
“It was great to see first-hand the desktop and lab simulations the team have been working on to map the journey for women to safely birth in the comfort of their own home.
“The state government will continue to deliver the healthcare services Queensland women need and deserve, no matter where they live.”
Professor Ted Weaver, a leading obstetrician at SCUH, said he hoped learnings from the pilot program would mean all Queensland women would soon have access to publicly funded home births.
“This is just the evolution of that we’re running at SCUH to provide further choice for women,” he said.
“We want to do this under a safe framework … to ensure women can get the same care at home that they can get at hospital.”
Member for Nicklin Rob Skelton welcomed the program.
“We’re so lucky to be trialling this great new service that will give women more choice when it comes to birthing,” he said.
Member for Caloundra Jason Hunt agreed.
“This is a game changer for families on the Sunny Coast who will soon be supported by a team of passionate clinicians to safely birth in their home environment,” he said.
Sunshine Coast Health Chief Executive Dr Peter Gillies said many women had already expressed an interest in the program.
“We have had a number of women express an interest in having a home birth and we are working to make sure we provide a safe service to these families,” he said
“These simulations help us to determine how to safely provide a home birth service and what our frontline teams need to do if there are any issues.
“We are working to finalise the inclusion criteria for a publicly funded home birth shortly and will provide updated information to women and families over the coming months.
“We’re looking forward to providing this service to women and families in the second half of 2024.”
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