Expectant mothers, families and the broader Canberra community are invited to have their say on a new strategy for women and families to have streamlined access to information and services during pregnancy, birthing and in the important first months after their baby is born.
Minister for Health and Wellbeing Meegan Fitzharris launched the consultation today.
“We have developed a new Maternity Access Strategy, which will take a Territory-wide approach to informing women about birthing choices in a community setting close to their home,” said Minister Fitzharris.
“We know more and more women are choosing to use public maternity services in Canberra due to the quality of those services and the growing expense of private health care.
“Public consultation on the new Maternity Access Strategy begins today following extensive stakeholder consultation during 2018 that helped shape the model.”
Under the proposed model, women will:
- Call one phone number to arrange their first appointment with a midwife.
- Meet a midwife early to talk about public pregnancy and birthing options available in Canberra as well as their preference and health care needs.
- Receive local support before, during and after pregnancy.
“We want to make it easier for women and their families to access high quality maternity care that’s close to home and ensure that they get the right information about the maternity care options available to them,” Minister Fitzharris said.
“After broad consultation with new mums, mums-to-be, health practitioners and community organisations, we can now share the proposed model with the broader community.
“I look forward to hearing their feedback and incorporating it into the model.”
