First indigenous midwife

Margaret is originally from Broome, she is the mother of four young children and she has graduated from Curtin University after completing her Bachelor of Science (Midwifery). Congratulations Margaret Martin what an enormous achievement.
Margaret was a committed student from the moment I met her when she commenced her course. I had no doubt then that she would complete her midwifery and I have no doubt now that Margaret will achieve great things for both Aboriginal women and midwifery.

Margaret sees her role of a midwife as important, her aim is to consolidate and gain experience as a midwife and focus on pregnancy care for Aboriginal women and help to make their birthing experiences as positive as possible. Margaret’s ultimate aim is to go back up north and help set up a clinic for Aboriginal women, which could help reduce infant mortality rates and improve the health of mothers, babies and children.
Margaret’s mother Carol Martin (Labor MP) was the first indigenous woman to be voted into an Australian parliament; it seems that Margaret is following in her mother’s footsteps in leading the way forward. Margaret’s philosophy is “anything is possible if you set your mind to it”...... Good luck Margaret... aim high, dreams do come true....

Pauline Costins

The Face of Birth - A teaser

Come and join us at the Health Dept for the viewing of The face of birth..... lets make some changes.....see details on the previous post.

The Face of Birth - 20th March 2012

WA Branch of the ACM is hosting a showing of "The Face of Birth"

Calling all midwives and women who live in WA and would like to see this movie: The Face of Birth will be screened in the theatrette at the Dept of Health - Refreshments will be served prior to viewing.
"Scientific evidence shows that how we are born has a huge impact on our health and happiness - as babies, children and, for some of us - for the rest of our lives.
Home birth mothers believe that they are making the best and safest choice for themselves and their babies. Mainstream medicine in Australia, unlike the UK, thinks otherwise.
This is a film about families that choose to give birth at home, the midwives and health professionals who support them and a system that works against them".

DATE: 20 March 2012

TIME: 1800

COST: $20.00 pre-purchased tickets (internet details coming soon)

Door Tickets - $23.00

PLACE: WA Department of Health
189 Royal St, Perth, WA 6004

RSVP:to confirm attendance for catering and theatrette size please email acmwabranch@gmail.com

ACM Homebirth (interim) Position Statement;

Dear Members,

Please take the time to read and comment on the ACM's interim Homebirth position statement and guidance for privately practicing midwives;

Interim Position Statement on Homebirth

Interim Guidance for privately practising midwives providing midwifery care for a planned homebirth

ACM has requested comment on both the interim position statement and the interim guidance for privately practising midwives by close of business 23rd September 2011.

Send submissions by email to info@midwives.org.au or by post to PO Box 87, Deakin West ACT 2600. Only submissions with identified senders and a return address will be considered.

Some rules for Facebook:

This is a timely reminder about the importance of confidentiality and professional conduct when using Facebook (FB)considering approximately 54% of Australians use this social medium.

After doing a web search regarding some legal issues on FB... I have come up with a list of rules that might help you keep out of trouble in the work place or anywhere else relating to FB.

Rule 1: really consider carefully who you are letting into your FB as a ‘friend’, if you allow mangers, work colleagues/associates this means you let your work into your private life. Ensure you have a closed privacy setting.

Rule 2: Do not mention anything to do with your work place no matter how insignificant you think it is... if you can be connected to your work by your comment you probably break the golden rules of ‘confidentially’ and ‘Code of Conduct’.

Rule 3: Be mindful of the photos of yourself you allow on FB, these photos become the property of FB and if you are acting in an unbecoming manner this could come back to bite you later. Don’t allow people to take your photo without asking you and letting you know if it is going on FB.

Rule 4: Do not write on FB when you are angry or under the influence of alcohol once the information is in cyber space it stays there: Internet Defamation is the fastest growing litigation ....so don’t write anything derogatory about anyone.

Rule 5: People seem to believe what you do outside of work does not affect your work life....WRONG....this is dependent on what it is and if you have you bought your profession/company/school into disrepute? Just think of our footballers .....there is a prime example of unbecoming behaviour.

Rule 6: Social responsibility: this is like a duty of care to society, a reciprocal duty: we owe society and society owes us a mutually beneficial obligation. Be kind to each other.

The bottom line for FB is be careful who you invite in your world, don’t talk about work, don’t say anything derogatory and be mindful of the photos you let FB have:Respect privacy:

Happy Facebooking!!!!!!!

WA Branch Executive Committee 2011

WA ACM Branch President Ms Terri Barrett:

Dear Members,

I am sorry for the delay in posting this information on the blog. I have been trying to play catch up with the posts:

Current WA Branch Positions are as follows:
President- Terri Barrett:
Vice President- Pauline Costins:
National Director- Tracy Martin:
Secretary- Laura Robertson:
Treasurer- Sylvia Jenkin:
Education Officer- Liz Ashton:
Minute secretary- Trish Dempsey:
Merchandise / Publicity- Carli Beange:
Community Rep- Sara Bayes:
General committee members- Liza Kennedy & Sue Cudlipp:
Consumer Rep- Shelley Gower:
MESAC rep- Janice Butt:
Student reps from ECU & Curtin Universities:
Education subcommittee- Carol Pinch & Judith Wilson:

Please feel free to contact the executive committee with any of your questions or if you require professional support: acmwabranch@gmail.com

WA congratulate Tracy Martin as the National President of the College and Terri Barrett as the WA President:

These are exciting times for midwifery and especially for WA with our own Director in the National President position.

With the National Maternity Plan signed off by the Federal Minister for Health in November last year, the jurisdictions are now looking to the implementation phase. The ACM WA Branch Executive Committee is committed to informing and supporting members on matters related to the maternity reform agenda.

At a local level the Executive Committee has recently undertaken their annual planning and will focus on increasing our membership, improving the services the Branch provides and ensuring that governance processes are transparent and robust. This will include the development of a ACM WA Branch specific Constitution. The Committee welcomes your input and we hope to see you at our International Midwife Day celebration: Terri Barrett WA President


Please once again don't hesitate to contact us if you want a chat, post something on the blog, have any idea's you want to share, or any education sessions you would like: email us on acmwabranch@gmail.com

Thanks for your time
Pauline

President’s Report – WA Branch 24th February 2011

This will be my last report as President of the ACM WA branch, at this point in time. Issues within the National Office have led me in another direction and as a result I have stepped down as President to take up the role as National Director for WA – replacing Pauline Costins. My term for this role will expire in November 2012. Terri Barrett has stepped in as President effective 11th February and Pauline Costins has taken up the Vice President position. WA is in good hands.
On the 8th January 2011, we had the WA Branch Strategic Planning Day, which was hosted by Dame Monica Holmes OAM. She guided us through what our strategic direction would be for the next 12 – 24 months. Keeping in line with National Strategic Plan for 2015 which include five strategic priorities:-
Advocacy for Midwives and Midwifery
Supporting midwives
Setting Professional Practice and Education Standards
Ensuring Access to Continuity of midwifery Care
Ensuring Good Governance.

We identified four key areas:
Governance
Membership
Education and Research and Public Relations.
These goals will form the framework for the WA Branch’s activity over the next few months.

Some of the strategies we will be looking at include engaging midwifery managers – they are the role models, looking at ways of engaging students and conducting a satisfaction survey. We will be inviting the Professor of Midwifery Yvonne Hauck to be part of the Executive Committee and broaden our research focus.
We will be looking at our constitution, which is timely given that the National constitution needs to be reviewed. We are improving governance around the financial management of the branch and reviewing role statements. A new MOU has been drawn up, for our continued use of the facilities at KEMH.
We will be developing a website and a calendar of events. We are well on the way for the planning for both our big functions – IMD celebrations and Conference and AGM. The year has started well and I look forward to being a part of WA’s direction.

Tracy Martin
Ex President WA Branch

President ACM

Strategic Planning Day:

On the 8th January 2011, we had the WA Branch Strategic Planning Day, which was hosted by Dame Monica Holmes OAM.
The WA Branch achieved many things over the last year, when we sat together and evaluated last years strategic plan we had achieved 90% of the plan, which was excellent: Highlights of the year included:
20% increase in local membership
Road show informing members of legislative changes / maternity reforms
Hospital site visits to increase College visibility and disseminate information
2 Major education sessions
Politically lobbing
Social Media - Facebook page and blog site
Support Go-Girl Australia

Time for a break a cuppa:



Monica guided us through what our strategic direction would be for the next 12 – 24 months. Keeping in line with National Strategic Plan for 2015 which include five strategic priorities:-
Advocacy for Midwives and Midwifery
Supporting midwives
Setting Professional Practice and Education Standards
Ensuring Access to Continuity of midwifery Care
Ensuring Good Governance.
We identified four key areas:
Governance
Membership
Education and Research and Public Relations.
These goals will form the framework for the WA Branch’s activity over the next few months.



The end of the day; time to shave a drink and have a laugh....

Resignation as WA Board Director

The ACM vision........... is to be the leading organisation shaping Australian maternity care for the benefit of women and their families
The Australian College of Midwives (ACM) is the peak professional body for Australian midwives, which strives to maximize the quality of midwifery and maternity care for Australian women and their families through:
• Providing a unified voice for the midwifery profession.
• Supporting midwives to reach their full potential.
• Ensuring all childbearing women have access to continuity of care by a known midwife.
• Setting professional practice and education standards

I believe in the above vision that is why I was both delighted and honoured to be elected the WA Board Director, unfortunately for me the position has only lasted l2mths and it was a challenging year. I spent the first few meetings finding my feet and dealing with the personalities of everyone on the Board as well as assessing the current political situation. I met some phenomenal women on the Board... and everyone works with what they consider is the “best interest” of the ACM.

I feel that WA is in a unique position that we do not have some of the issues faced by our counterparts in the Eastern States. It saddens me to say that I have resigned (December 2010). I am bound by confidentiality of the Board and therefore I cannot divulge the reasons why I resigned except to say that the situation was untenable and I have the support of the whole WA executive committee. This has not been an easy decision it was painstakingly difficult. The decision was made in the best interest of the ACM and its membership.

I continue to support and believe in the ACM Nationally. I will continue to put all my energy into the WA Branch to encourage its growth, support the membership and foster collegial and political relationships to further the profession of midwifery in WA and one day I will return to the National Board. The ACM works to support all midwives, ensuring that childbearing women have access to continuity of midwifery care.
I do believe as a profession we need a strong national body to represent all midwives, a body that is respected and accepted by all midwives to take us forward into the 21st century and I believe that the ACM can deliver this.

Regards your servant Pauline Costins

WA Branch AGM: November 2010

Dear Members, my sincere apologies for reporting so late on the WA ACM AGM. November and December have been extremely busy for me and I have only now caught up with myself. I have quite a few stories to write to keep you updated, so will start in chronological order from the AGM.

As you all remember the AGM was 12th November combined with our yearly conference, this strategy of a yearly conference with a set date has proven to be successful and City West seems to be a great hit with all our members. The WA Branch has experienced a 20% growth in the last year, that is just fantastic and a special thank you to all the student midwives who make up a good percentage of the growth, as you are our future.....and we welcome your input to the College.

WA Branch of the ACM is growing in membership and continues to support its members and has a strong executive team working together for the members of WA. Congratulations to the new members of the executive committee; Liz Ashton, Carol Pinch, Sara Bayes, Liza Kennedy and Judith Wilson.

President Tracy Martin, Vice President Terri Barrett, Treasurer; Sylvia Jenkin, Secretary; Laura Robertson; WA National Director Pauline Costins, Minute secretary Trish Dempsey, Education Standards Janice Butt; Publicity & Merchandise Carli Beange; Aboriginal rep; Karen Kruit; Education Officer Liz Ashton, Education Committee – Carol Pinch, Judith Wilson, Sara Bayes; General committee: Liza Kennedy, Abbey Rodda, Sue Cudlip.

Ms Tracy Martin WA President opened the day, inspiring all who were present; It was a diverse program and as usual the presenters were of a great calibre; they included; Dianne Bond – Diabetes Service, Sadie Geraghty - Vitamin D; Renate McLaurin - Cannabis use and Pregnancy; Mother & baby unit – State-wide Mental Health unit; Debbie Slatter and Lesley Kuliukas – Childbirth Education, there were several other presentations..... All excellent. Everyone seemed to enjoy the day..... the food as usual was brilliant and plenty of it... we ended the day with a sundowner.... a grand way to finish off the day with a glass of red wine.....

A thank you goes to all the sponsors whose generous contributions made this event possible: St John of God Hospital Subiaco & Murdoch, Police and Nurses Credit Society; ACM WA Branch, WELDA & Cell Care; and a big thank you to all who attended the day and made it the success it was..... see you all next year.

Cheers Pauline

PS pictures coming.....

A farewell tribute to Barb Vernon

Midwife means ‘with woman’. This meaning shapes midwifery’s philosophy, work and relationships........recognises every woman’s right to self-determination in attaining choice, control and continuity of care from one or more known caregivers...

The Australian College of Midwives (ACM) is the peak professional body for Australian midwives, which strives to maximize the quality of midwifery and maternity care for Australian women and their families through:
• Providing a unified voice for the midwifery profession.
• Supporting midwives to reach their full potential.
• Ensuring all childbearing women have access to continuity of care by a known midwife.
• Setting professional practice and education standards

I remember meeting Barb Vernon at the WA conference in 2003; this was around the time that Barb started off as the Executive Office for the College. I have always found Barb to be engaging, passionate and her focus was always to take the College to great heights; She has taught me the benefits of being politically savvy and most importantly being a quiet but forceful lobbyer; I regret having less than 10 months as a Board Director to learn from this phenomenal woman. I will not spend my time saying how amazing I thought Barb was, we all know that, and yes we all have our short comings, none of us are perfect, least of all me, however Barbs achievements speaks volumes.....and here creditability is without question.


It is remarkable what Barb has done for women, midwives and midwifery of Australia and where she has taken the College too in the last 7.5 years.... if you mention her name it is synonymous with the ACM: I can’t count the number of times I have heard people say “Barb Vernon, yes a very articulate and intelligent woman” “you’re lucky to have her” and they are correct.


Barb has always put her heart and soul into everything she has done for the College... her major achievements is as follows: (and I have not listed them all).
Medicare funding, provision of PBS and prescribing rights for midwives, national standards for entry to midwifery, establishment of separate, national professional standards for midwifery, separate register for midwives in the new national registration recognising midwifery in its own right, the development of the Midwifery Practice Review, MidPLUS, online CPD and portfolios, the development of an internationally recognised peer review journal for midwives, the list is endless;


For me what Barb has done most is establish mutually respectful and collaborative relationships with key national health organisations, such as, Australian Nursing Federation, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, the National Rural Health Alliance and many others...... She has forged a way forward politically, established good working relationships..... with Health Ministers etc. The college has had phenomenal growth to date; excellent collegial relationships with major stake holders expanded the College activities and services to members for the future and good political ties, the College is at the table for discussions and this is due to Barbs excellent political and lobbying skills.


There does come a time to say goodbye, when you have done all you can and for someone else to come along and take the college the next step, sadly that time has come for us. I bid Barb Vernon a fond good bye and wish her every success in life; and say the ACM & women owe her a multitude of thanks – we went part of the way in thanking her when we celebrated Barb’s achievements at a farewell in Canberra last week.

I am going to leave you with one of my favourite sayings Barb; an Irish Blessing (A Blessing from St. Patrick)

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
May the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

(Traditional Irish Blessing; origin unknown,
although some attribute it to St. Patrick.)



THANK YOU: THANK YOU: THANK YOU: THANK YOU: THANK YOU:

In the best interest

This blog is not meant to reflect any one person or persons: it is pondering on the phrase “In the best interest”: what does this really mean? when it comes to law and ethics there are two very different meanings, traditionally when we refer to children you might consider that parents and doctors talk about “in the best interest” it means what is considered to be best for the child...not what is best for the adult, there are times when both the doctor and the parents do not agree as to what is in the child’s best interest. “Best interests” is the doctrine used by most courts to determine a wide range of issues relating to the well-being of children.

My discussion today is about “in the best interest for the College” – now we are looking at “best interest” from a different perspective: you are looking at a philosophy, an organisation and the people within that organisation: 8 people on a Board an EO, office support staff and the membership & stakeholders: Without the membership nothing else exists:

Defintion of “Best Interest” Authority delegated for taking any action or step the delegatee thinks to be the most advantageous to the organization, under the circumstances. This power is conferred usually where it is impossible to anticipate every eventuality, or where the need for rapid decisions or quick response is critical. It is normally given for a short period, or until the time adequate information is available to formulate specific directions or guidelines.

Just to explain some general governance processes of a board for those who may not be familiar with this process: Usually an organisation will have a Constitution Governance Charter (which sets out the ground rules and job descriptions)and several other polices: The board directors are the strategic thinkers they set future goals and represent the college on the National & political front; The directors are selected by the State Membership, this does not mean that the State Board director is responsible to the state they are the National Board director from each state and territory looking after the best interest of the National College: the board director may choose to report back to the State branch to keep them informed about National issues: Therefore the National College has 8 board directors: from this the office bearers are elected the; College President, Vice President and Treasurer; All the directors are volunteers, this is an unpaid position, done as a professional duty to further the profession.

The executive officer is a salaried position; appointed via advertisement and a panel interview: The EO is responsible for carrying out the strategic plans that the board develops: and managing the office staff to carry out the work required in assisting the membership etc the day to day minutia that is required of an organisation of a 5500 membership; The board directors do not venture into the realm of the EO, that is the day to day running of the college.

In order for an organisation to function well you have to have a president and an EO that can work together and a board that is united in philosophy – they do not have to necessarily see eye to eye but they have to know how to agree to disagree and come to reasoned decisions, the ability to argue respectfully, have insight to their behaviour and most importantly have integrity. You have to leave your own agenda at the door, because the focus is “in the best interest of the College” that is for all 5500 members not just certain sectors of the membership. Confidentiality is a vital component to any board, mutual respect and good governance. Once on the board it is a National board, no state or territory exists, however this does not stop factions, such as state biases, homebirth etc

If directors come to the table with different agendas and ego’s the ability to have insight is difficult and decisions are clouded by the comment “in the best interest” my question is whose “best interest” are they truly serving? When you have powerful people in the room you are bound to get explosions, what is required is reasoned arguments, powers of persuasion without bullying and mutual respect.... once respect is gone there is a breakdown in communication because there is a tug of war about “the best interest” this is blatantly clear because there is a breakdown of respect and the factions then take over or the personal loyalties to people rather than “the best interest of the College” and then the battle begins.

The other over powering conflict that may influence how boards behave is outside influence – everyone else knows how to run the board – everyone looking into the fish bowl thinks they know best and want their two cents worth – this can be detrimental – again this comes down to a breakdown of trust and the issue of “the best interest” again I ask “whose best interest” or “whose agenda”? Once you as a board member breach confidentiality and let the outside world in...... it opens the board to criticism.... there is a fine line between being transparent and breaching confidences that lead to untenable situations.

If you do not have good governance you will not be able to function as expected and when things go pear shaped you have nothing to fall back on, it is imperative to ensure there are appropriate governance structures in place to protect your board and organisation.

I am truly saddened that great women have been wounded –in my experience 95% of people are good....but sure as hell that 5% can cause havoc, there is always a minority that cause you to have to reconsider your point of view:

I am disappointed that I have not been able to achieve the things I wanted and have a heavy heart however I am confident I have followed my heart and acted “in the best interest of the College”.

Midwives wonderful women......dinner with Marg Phelan

Marg Phelan a midwife originally from Victoria, now living in NT (president of the Australian College of Midwives in 2003) is cycling around Australia to raise awareness for midwives, normal birth, women's childbirth choices and breastfeeding. Marg and her superb team travel on average 100k per day, what a feat.... tonight they were enjoying a glass of red, and the company of the ACM WA Executive, student midwives and colleagues.....

I have just come home having a wonderful dinner with a phenomenal group of women; being a midwife is such a privilege and opens the door to meeting a multitude of people from all walks of life.

The team

I was enjoying chatting to Marg's team, Sue a renal nurse specialist from the NT who is the driver of the bus, Lois a scientist from Victoria who advocates that cycling keeps you young, Rhea also from Victoria an infection control nurse, says she sleeps really well after cycling and its the best way to see the country and Rob who is a midwife also from Victoria who has just joined the group to do the driving from Perth to Victoria says no way am I cycling happy to drive the bus, so that Sue can do some cycling with Marg. Marg does all the cycling and the others take turns or cycle with Marg...I have to say it puts me to shame knowing that the average age of the group is 60 years young.... my legs just ache at the thought of 100k's a day.... oops ladies after our chat about going to bed early the computer went on when I came home....it was calling me......just had to write about you all before Alzheimer's set in....what an inspiration all these women are, such dedication and passion..... how would I describe them.... fantastic, wonderful, remarkable and unique.


A couple of our Bachelor of Midwifery students Beth and Lisa who organised the Mum's bub's and midwives at Point Walter also joined us for dinner....they had the opportunity to chat to the team, it's about the new and the experienced sharing the common goal of midwifery and how to keep moving the profession forward and upwards into the future.....

These sorts of evenings allow us to network, share stories, enjoy a glass of red... and just chat.....



Have a safe journey and we will be watching you.....go girl australia... anyone wanting to help Marg Phelan please visit her website or email her on margiphelan@hotmail.com


Ciao Pauline

RANZCOG won't come to the table......

New research suggests that doctors and midwives are poles apart....strangely enough I did not need research to tell me that....but in terms of putting into perspective research is the answer because it is now in black and white.....

Sue Kruske's work shows that....."a survey of 460 midwives, GP obstetricians and obstetricians found that over half of doctors thought they should have the final say in maternity care but only 4% of midwives agreed..... "
NOW THERE IS a surprise...(tongue in cheek)

"On the other hand, over 90% of midwives thought they should be the final decision maker, but only 30% of doctors agreed with this, according to the survey carried out at the Queensland Centre for Mothers and Babies and presented at a maternity services conference in Alice Springs."

“The results showed while there was a widespread [agreement] with the definition of collaboration, there were significant differences in the way this definition translated into practice,” says researcher Associate Professor Sue Kruske, a midwife and child and family health nurse."

"Both groups indicated that they thought the current system did not support collaboration between doctors and midwives. Nearly all doctors respected midwives, but this was not reciprocal, with only 75% of midwives saying they respected doctors.... I wonder if this is because mutual understanding of the role of the midwife is not agreed....doctors do not acknowledge that midwives are the experts in normal childbirth......."

The NHMRC is working as a go between to try to get RANZCOG and the College of Midwives to agree on the referral guidelines.

I see the major difference being that midwives focus on the 'woman' being at the centre of care....where doctors are paternalistic and think they know what is best, despite what the woman wants......

it is interesting to get RANZCOG at the table when they have a position statement that does not support homebirth....so it is clear that they are not willing to compromise......


From November, midwives will be able to access the MBS when working collaboratively.


Ref:No compromise in sight on maternity care
by Jared Reed

Great You Tube video.... watch this.....

"Madre De Muchos" - "Mother Of Many", by Emma Lazenby
great view...let me know what you think

Cheers Pauline

Diversity: Midwifery Celebrations for IMD

The new ACM (WA Branch) education committee did well with the recent celebrations for International Midwives Day; it was a great success, thank you team. Attendance was good there were about 60 participants and UWA is always a great venue, with superb food. It is always good to see a good turnout of midwifery students, well done.
Our President Tracy Martin opened the day with words of encouragement, her message was about remembering the grass roots of midwifery and to recall why we became midwives. In these times of change we need to remain grounded and stay focused and women focused.

Some of our Postgrade and undergraduate student midwives:

Beth O’Neil who is an accomplished singer, also one of our inaugural Bachelor of Midwifery third year students conducted the next session. Beth said “I love singing, but I am not going to sing to you, I am going to teach you how to sing so we can all sing together” brilliant idea….although I have to say I love hearing Beth sing….she is just magnificent…. However she organized a noisy group of midwives into a chorus of singers…. It was such fun and I had forgotten how well for the soul singing is… so thank you Beth for a job well done…… a most enjoyable session.

Time for a cuppa and a chat:

Next I gave a review of the current political status, National Registration, Bill C and the current position in WA, which is that it has not yet been passed which may result in us not going forward with the other states. Points of note from the National meeting in Canberra were; ACM national membership has increased and WA has a 15% increase, as well as a strong student membership; Online education and face to face teaching will continue and needs to include packages to assist the transition for midwives to eligible midwife; learning packages to include business management for Midwifery Group Practices; indemnity insurance will be provided by the college and will be cheaper for members; lobbying and submissions;

Janice Butt gave a thought provoking presentation about her recent trip to Tanzania, where they have 100 births a day and one woman dies every minute. She also reminded us how we are not meeting The Millennium Goals.……
What are the millennium goals check out this link

Goals 4 Reduce Child Mortality & Goal 5 Improve Maternal Health are the ones that need urgent attention.

Shelly and Karen presented the ACM MidPLUS and Midwifery Practice Review (MPR) made easy..... well they certainly made it look easy...how to navigate the requirements for National Registration by investing in MidPLUS and if you are looking at becoming an eligible midwife you will have to consider doing your MPR.

We then had a rather sobering presentation about refugee women from Afghanistan, and how hard the transition can be from leaving their homeland……the expectation to assimilate to something so foreign to these women…..and how vastly different cultural lifestyles can be…..these sessions are invaluable in helping midwives understand different ways of being…..undoubtedly food for thought.

This was then followed by Sadie’s talk, about drugs and alcohol in pregnancy……addictive listening, her statistics astounded me…. I am aware of the problems but certainly not the extent and across all social boundaries. Sadie also discussed life in prison for women, and pregnant women get no better treatment….. In fact the word treatment is an underestimation of the lack of care that is afforded these women, still human beings; again I was totally horrified that this type of lack of care is so prolific in the twenty-first century, that because the woman is pregnant she is not given or even considered to be worthy of consideration…… well done for bringing this to light and trying to do something about it…..to all that fight these types of inhumane injustice keep up the good work and let the world know what is happening…….. Great work Sadie and team……

The official day ended with a session on Tai Chi….. not my cup of tea… but most people joined in and looked as if they enjoyed it….. For me I took some time out and sat reflecting on the sessions at the river…
The program was as diverse as was the title….. my thoughts were that it was a thought provoking day, looking at what a diverse population we have and how our care needs to reflect diversity, compassion, understanding and tolerance. It also reminded me of how fortunate we are in Australia to have such wonderful maternity care (except if you are in prison)…. Even though it needs fine tuning to cater for the needs all women and that means Homebirth & Midwifery led Care for those who choose it.

The day came to a close with a well earned sundowner…. This is a wonderful time to network and reflect on the amazing day; Happy International Day of the Midwife.

Our new Merchandise


Cheers Pauline Costins

Update on scheduled medicines..... midwifery

For your information........

On 1 April 2010 The Australian Health Workforce Ministerial Council announced its approval of national health practitioner registration standards in regards to the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme for the Health Professions. The approval includes standards for scheduled medicines endorsements for suitably qualified and rural and isolated practice registered nurses (RNs). The proposed scheduled medicines endorsements for midwives, provided by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (the Board), has been delayed "pending the outcome of further priority discussions between the Board, and Commonwealth, State and Territory officials." For more information, read the 1 April 2010 Communique – Health Ministers Announce Approval of National Health Practitioner Registration Standards.

24 Hour Virtual International Day of the Midwife, celebrate in the comfort of your home

The count down has began to this great event......
Take some time out and have a look at the 24 Hour Virtual International Day of the Midwife 2010. Come and celebrate with us.... the 24 hour Virtual day has been planned by Sarah Stewart from Otago Polytechnic Education Development Centre (NZ) and Dr Deborah Davis from the University of Technology in Sydney.

I participated & presented last year and found it a brilliant experience.... most amazing was being able to talk to students and midwives all over the world sitting at my desk at home......its a great concept, networking, sharing with like minded people.

What do you need to be part of it....well that's easy, a computer, Internet and Elluminate.... what is Elluminate it is a virtual meeting room, you need to get access to it .....please click here: How to use Elluminate

Check out the times and the program 24 Hour Virtual International Day of the Midwife 2010 - planning page

Go on be daring try something different..... spread the word see you there.

Welcome to all Student Midwives

Welcome to the new Curtin post graduate midwifery students.... it’s always great to meet and greet the students on orientation day.... it’s a who’s who of nursing and previous life experience. I particularly like to hear what everyone’s passion is...and inevitably most of the students tell you that they are here because they have always wanted to be a midwife and the other comment has been “I wish they had direct entry midwifery earlier”. You can feel the excitement and enthusiasm in the air... of course there is anticipation and some trepidation as there is with any new path that we embark upon.... we would not be normal if this did not happen.



This is an incredible journey and often life changing....”The student midwife” one of self discovery..... It is often a spiritual journey one which makes some of you think of your own birthing experiences and come to terms with them.... and if you have not had children.... it may lead you to ask about your own birth.... it is a time to really discover who you are..... Because you share a very privileged time in a woman’s life and she is often dependent on your knowledge and support.... it is a time to learn how to truly be “with woman” and often this about knowing, when to be an advocate, educator, counsellor, silent and above all professional in every way......it is about knowing what the woman wants, listening and letting go of your own ego...... it’s about empowering women to make their own decisions....



The midwifery students are from all different areas...rural, SJOG Subiaco and Murdoch, Mercy, KEMH, OPH, AKH, sorry if I have left any out...


“There are precious few times in life when you are fortunate enough to meet people who bring you a truly new perspective on a subject that you thought you knew – people who inspire you to ask different questions and re-evaluate the essence of what you’re doing” Professor Fiona Stanley.



Good luck to you all.... enjoy the journey....

We will be going out to ECU next week so will post the photos when we get them....watch this space.....
Cheers Pauline

Here is an interesting artice relating to medicare rebates

Here is a nice easy read relating to the effects of cutting medicare funded rebates, until last year women could claim 80 per cent of out-of-pocket obstetrics fees after reaching the safety-net threshold. This will change things for both the woman and the obstetrician... and hopefully we will see more women seeking midwifery led care.......Anger over cut to obstetrics

Rebates for private obstetrics fees slashed
Public hospitals swamped by patient demand
Low-risk out-of-area patients turned away