As with all of life’s wins, sometimes there are caveats, delays or details that require further consideration. Exciting times ahead.
Last week there were some major budget announcements for midwifery that provide hope for positive maternity service reform.
On budget night and in the lead up to it, it was announced that four items the Australian College of Midwives and many other professional bodies and consumer groups has long been advocating for were finally being funded.
Students experiencing clinical placement poverty suffer unacceptable attrition rates and the federal government has now committed to a new payment of almost $320 per week to eligible midwifery students. This payment will help to ease financial stress.
The average age of ACM midwifery student members is 29. These students aren’t all school leavers who live at home with parents. A large number are mature women supporting families of their own, with the added pressures of doing this on a single or reduced household income. If financial pressures were eased for all students and not means tested, then the ACM has no doubt students who wanted to stay in the course would actually graduate.
What an incredible boost to our future workforce.
The ACM has been advocating for the funding of five MBS items recommended by the MBS Taskforce a decade ago, and the federal government has now committed $56.5 million to making this a reality.
These MBS items for endorsed midwives include increasing the duration for initial antenatal appointments to 90 minutes, a new item for antenatal attendance and for complex antenatal care leading to hospital admission, as well as a new 90-minute postnatal item which will allow women access to birth debriefing, mental health and domestic violence screening.
This will increase access to private midwifery care for women who choose this model of care.
Midwives being enabled to work to their full scope of practice is a priority for the ACM and the federal government has now committed $5.2 million for the training of health professionals, including midwives, on insertion and removal of long-acting reversible contraceptives.
Contraceptive care is a great example of a midwife’s scope and training more midwives gives women greater access to this care, particularly in rural and remote areas.
The Professional Indemnity Insurance exemption for homebirth for individual privately practicing midwives is longstanding and the ACM has advocated for a PII solution.
This budget makes permanent a funding solution for intrapartum care in the home before a planned hospital birth.
We also saw the announcement of insurance cover for low-risk homebirth.
Through consultation with midwives and the ACM, these changes should expand access to safe, evidence-based midwifery models of care for women in Australia. This will also positively impact First Nations women, or women carrying a First Nations baby, accessing Birthing on Country services.
The ACM has long been advocating for the removal of collaborative arrangements and last week legislation for the removal of this requirement passed the Senate. This finally ends the decade-long barrier to direct access to Medicare rebates for care provided by endorsed midwives and is further confirmation that this government has the trust and respect for midwives that we deserve.
They’re also showing how they value women by righting some of the wrongs of the past, by making incremental changes that will improve equity of access and by supporting more and more women to receive the maternity care of their choice.
As with all of life’s wins, sometimes there are caveats, delays or details that require further consideration.
The ACM is considering the next steps towards a world where access to continuity of midwifery care, and midwives working to full scope of practice is the norm, not the exception.
It’s an exciting road ahead.
Alison Weatherstone is the Chief Midwife of the Australian College of Midwives.