Dani Slade advocates for Midwifery Group Program after near fatal mistake
An Australian model and wife of the Gold Coast Supercars star has opened up about her nearly fatal run-in with the healthcare system. READ HER HARROWING STORY
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An Australian model has opened up about her dangerous post-birth experience to call for greater access to vital midwife care.
Mrs Slade, wife to Supercars driver Tim Slade and mother of two, is advocating for wider exposure of the Midwifery Group Program (MGP).
Her crusade relates to the traumatic time she suffered after the arrival of her first child in 2020.
While the birth went well, Mrs Slade was discharged from Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH) not knowing part of her placenta was still inside her and experienced “horrible and traumatic” symptoms including constant bleeding, pain and an inability to produce breastmilk.
The birth came during the peak of the Covid pandemic, with health facilities across the Coast stretched to breaking point. Mrs Slade said the increase in pressure on hospitals saw her “rushed” through the system.
“I don’t want to bag out that hospital,” she said.
“I felt really rushed and got induced – in short I felt they wanted me in and out as quickly as possible which kind of spiralled everything out of control.”
Unable to cope with the pain she was experiencing, Mrs Slade was rushed to Tweed Hospital and diagnosed with a staph infection.
She was then referred to GCUH’s emergency department, where she says she was given antibiotics and told to go home.
“Nearly two weeks later I was sitting at home haemorrhaging,” Mrs Slade said.
“It was dangerous and made my start to motherhood very hard. It affected everything, both physically and mentally.”
In a 2021 meeting with Mrs Slade, GCUH admitted that understaffing had compounded her situation.
“I broke down in tears during the meeting and said ‘You need to do better, you need better care – I basically nearly had to die before you (the hospital) took the matter seriously’,” she said.
“They said ‘Next time it will not be like this – you can have your own midwife through the program if you’re ever pregnant again and decide to come back with us.’
Mrs Slade gave birth to her second child last year, just two rooms and a “world of difference” away from her first experience, all with the help of midwives through the MGP.
“I had an amazing birth, there was no stress, there was no pressure of ‘let’s induce you because we’ve got to get this bed free for the next birthing woman’,” she said.
The program is one of two birthing pathways offered at GCUH and pairs pregnant women with a dedicated midwife who cares for them throughout their pregnancy.
However of the estimated 5000 women who give birth at the hospital, only one fifth of them get to experience this level of help due to the program’s limited capacity.
Queensland Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said: “I am passionate about ensuring that every Queensland woman has access to the highest standard of maternity care. Clearly, the care that Dani received in 2020 fell short of this.
“However, I am heartened to hear of Dani’s positive experience with the midwifery group practice program.”
A $16 million expansion of the program will now see a number of rural and regional hospitals receive funding to roll out the program over the next four years.
“This funding will ensure that more women have access to the level of care that Dani received during her second birth,” the minister said.
A Gold Coast Health spokeswoman said: “The highly successful model has grown from six to 33 (FTE) midwives since its launch in 2006.
“To ensure the highest quality care is provided to mothers, it is necessary to limit the number of women cared for by each MGP midwife.”
However, Mrs Slade said the program should be the standard – not the special exception available for a limited number of women.
“In the long run – if you’re doing it properly the first time you won’t have people coming back with problems constantly like me – having continuity of care – the same midwife you visit every time (should be) an investment the hospital or government can make.
“Even though births rarely go to plan, I still felt like my MGP midwife knew my plan and kept me informed about what if contingencies.”
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