#Human Rights
Target:
Bowen Neighbourhood Centre
Region:
Australia
Website:
bowenneighbourhoodcentre.org.au

WHAT IS CONTINUITY OF CARE??
- during pregnancy (antenatal care)
- during labour and birth (intrapartum care)
- after birth of your baby (postnatal care)

Seeing the same caregiver or small group of caregivers throughout pregnancy, labour and birth and afterwards is called continuity of care.

WHY PROVIDE CONTINUITY OF MIDWIFERY CARE?
Midwifery continuity models are popular with women, provide improved birth and satisfaction outcomes, are cost-effective and are common overseas. For these reasons Australian governments are committed to increasing women's access to these models as outlined in the National Maternity Services Plan and actioned by the Queensland Government with the commitment to provide 10% of public birth care in these models. Continuity models also have advantages in the development and retention of a skilled workforce which is responsive to day-to-day demand.

MIDWIFERY CONTINUITY MODELS
These models provide each woman with care from a known midwife/s, usually to 6 weeks postpartum. To meet the needs of women and be sustainable for midwives, continuity models are innovative and flexible in relation to place of care in widwives' working arrangements. Women with any level of complexity of care, and midwives consult and refer to guidelines and clinical need.

PROPOSED MODEL FOR BOWEN HOSPITAL MATERNITY CONTINUITY OF CARE

1. That women accessing the Bowen Hospital will be able to access 'continuity of care' throughout the life of their pregnancy, in labour and post natal care.

2. this means, having the same midwife as an identified primary carer, who will provide care and support throughout the pregnancy, and travel with the woman to birth in proserpine.

3. Women will have the opportunity to meet all the midwives involved in the continuity of care program as in some extreme cases the specific midwife may not be available to the woman (if she has been with another client in labour all night or is ill), and then she will still have access to familiar person.

If you believe this is a good model of support, and a step in the right direction towards providing good antenatal, labour and post natal care please sign this petetion.

This petition will be presented to the local member, as well as to the relevant ministers to provide political pressure on this important issue, and hopefully help make it a reality.

The Bowen Continuity of Care Petition petition to Bowen Neighbourhood Centre was written by Kate and is in the category Human Rights at GoPetition.