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“Normal birth is more likely to be achieved when a woman has access to ‘continuity of carer’ or ‘continuity of care’ from a midwife who is responsible for her care throughout pregnancy, labour and birth, and the postnatal period. ‘The systematic review comparing continuity of midwifery care with the standard maternity services include data from all Australian trials shows that continuity of midwifery care is associated with lower intervention rates than standard midwifery care, and that midwifery models of care are as safe as the existing standard services.’ (Waldenstrom and Turnbull 1998) The continuity of carer model of care has been proven to reduce the use of obstetric interventions in labour and birth, including the need for pharmacological pain relief, inductions, augmentations, instrumental deliveries, episiotomies and caesarean sections.”  (Hodnestt 1999, Homer et al 2001, Rowley )

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I share its vision for “a world where every childbearing woman has access to a midwife's care for herself and her newborn “

I find it reassuring also that the organisation works so closely with institutions like the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other organisations worldwide “to achieve common goals in the care of mothers and children.”

And I’m inspired also by its mission to "advance world-wide the aims and aspirations of midwives in the attainment of improved outcomes for women in their childbearing years, their newborn and their families wherever they reside".
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But it wasn’t until recently that I learned that this organisation, itself born in Europe, adopted its official definition of a midwife at an International Confederation of Midwives Council meeting on 19th July, in Brisbane, Australia in 2005, just an hour or two’s drive from Know Your Midwife’s Sunshine Coast home base. I thought it would be helpful to share this definition on my blog,

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1. Because when they tell their GP they have private health insurance, that’s what is suggested to them.

2. They want to have the same obstetrician for all of their care, and be able to have a private room in the hospital.

At least, that’s what I hear very often from the mothers I have birthed or mothers-to-be I am working with her on the Sunshine Coast. What I hear a lot of too, from women taking public care, is that they have no insurance so that’s where she was advised to go by her GP.

This isn’t an unreasonable situation.

But like so much about childbirth, women have more options than they think to place themselves in control of their own journey from pregnancy through birthing to the early days of parenthood.

You have a number of choices about where to give birth, who you would like to care for you in pregnancy, during labour and after the birth. Carers may include a private midwife, a GP, hospital midwives, or a combination of these.

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The authors and researchers of Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth included an international search of all trials that met their criteria and all medical journals from 1950 onwards, writing to over 40,000 obstetricians in 18 countries to identify unpublished studies. Their research is now incorporated into the Cochrane Data base.

They concluded from controlled trials that women who had continuity of carers were less likely to have a labour more than 6 hours duration, less likely to use pharmacological analgesia or anaesthesia during labour and birth, less likely to be induced or to have labour augmented with oxytocins. The women were also likely to feel more prepared for labour, felt safe and in control during labour, and felt well prepared for parenthood. Chalmers et al 1996, p 15 – 16)

Chalmers et al identify continuity of care from a qualified midwife as best practice for the health majority of women.

I believe the effectiveness of midwifery continuity of care largely stems from the relationships of partnership and mutual trust that builds up between the midwife and

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Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering: The wisdom and science of gentle choices in pregnancy, birth and parenting, features Dr Buckley’s exposure of the risks of routine practices. The forward is written by leading US midwife and author Ina May Gaskin.

As a midwife I know that parents to be are not given the full picture, based upon scientific evidence, of their choices for pre-birth and labour care by their Drs. Dr Buckley discusses the modern ultrasound machines and the fact that the 4D ultrasound which gives more detailed pictures) can give unborn babies very high levels of exposure without sufficient evidence to show that this is safe in the long term. “Animal studies, quoted in my book, suggest that ultrasound can cause tissue damage, including in the lungs and the brain. Such evidence should be making us think twice about exposing our babies to this very new technology”

Dr

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