Families in New South Wales (NSW) are set to benefit from a new initiative to improve pregnancy care, with a focus on better access to specialised maternity services, including more staff and regular care.
Health Minister Ryan Park announced that the new Pregnancy Connect initiative, which will receive an ongoing annual investment of $6.19 million ($US4 million), will particularly benefit women in regional and rural NSW.
Recruitment for 12 full-time midwives and eight full-time obstetricians is underway to provide advice to regional and rural maternity clinicians and reduce staff isolation.
High-risk pregnant women will also receive early and regular antenatal care, including virtual services and safe transfers.
Health Minister Ryan Park said it is about improving the first 2,000 days of a child’s life, critically impacting their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional health, ultimately shaping their adulthood.
NSW Health Secretary Susan Pearce highlighted the initiative’s commitment to delivering tailored care that meets the unique needs of families and assists them in achieving their health objectives.
“It is important to acknowledge that there is a great diversity of people and family structures across NSW communities, including gender diversity. Each person accessing maternity services must be respected without assumptions, judgment, or cultural bias,” she said.
Stillbirths, Low Birth Weight on the Rise
A maternity care blueprint by NSW earlier this month noted that in 2020, the number of stillbirths and deaths within the first week of life was 9.1 per 1,000 births, up from 7.5 percent in 2016.About 10.9 percent of babies born to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander mothers were low birth weight, compared to 6.4 percent for babies born to non-Indigenous mothers.
“There were complications, which I didn’t understand ... people were having conversations around me, not with me,” an aboriginal mother said about her experience.
Meanwhile, 94 percent of women rated their care during labour and birth as either very good or good, rather than excellent.
“I was treated like a number, I didn’t feel listened to and my choices were not respected,” another mother said.
Associate Professor Sean Seeho, who specialises in Clinical Academic Obstetrics and Gynecology at Northern Sydney Local Health District, expressed concern that maternity health outcomes are worse for women further from metropolitan hospitals.
“It would be fair to say that most maternity outcomes are worse in rural and remote areas compared to metropolitan areas,” he said.
Women in remote areas are more likely to have their first antenatal visit after 20 weeks of pregnancy, with 15 percent of them doing so compared to 8.4 percent of women in metro areas, according to an Australian Institute of Health and Wellbeing 2022 report.
Mr. Seeho mentioned that Pregnancy Connect must adequately address the inequality in maternity care “as the women in our state unfortunately experience.”
