2019-03-14
The ACT Greens have today called for improvements to the ACT’s home birthing scheme.
“In uncomplicated pregnancies, home birth is a safe and healthy option for women,” Shane Rattenbury, ACT Greens Health spokesperson said today.
“The Greens have been long-term supporters of publicly funded home birthing programs. This issue has a long history in the ACT, as the previous public home birth program available through the Canberra Midwifery Australia was closed around 2 decades ago. The ACT Greens have also been raising this issue with respective ACT Health Ministers over many years, and included its reintroduction as an item in the 2008 Parliamentary Agreement.
“It’s especially disappointing that despite these efforts, the current home birthing program is far too restrictive—a concern that the Greens have raised on a number of occasions since the program was reintroduced as a trial in 2016.
“The current program does not allow healthy first-time mothers who have had no complications to even enrol, let alone mothers who live more than 20 minutes from the hospital catchment.
“It’s no surprise that many Canberra women are simply not aware that the home birthing option even exists. On the other hand, some mothers who would like to birth at home but are ineligible for the program choose to birth at home – with less support, which may be less safe.”
“The Greens would like to see the eligibility criteria relaxed to allow for more healthy mothers to birth at home – better supporting mothers and families as well as reducing unnecessary pressure on our hospitals.
This follows recent media reports that only 19 homebirths have taken place in 17 months as part of the pilot.
Whilst the Greens have always supported the trial, we are concerned that the final evaluation will not include any recommendations to expand the current eligibility, meaning that it will remain unnecessarily restrictive.