Birthing Spirit

Group B strep (GBS) is a bacteria that can live quite harmlessly in your vagina. It comes and goes and is thought to be present in about 15-30% of women at any one time. There are no issues with it being there until you are nearing the end of your pregnancy.

Whether you are birthing at home with a midwife or in the hospital you are likely to be offered screening for GBS in the last weeks of pregnancy. If you test positive for GBS and are birthing in a hospital it will be recommended that you be given IV antibiotics during labour. Before you make decisions about that I suggest you read up on it first, so here are some links to help you understand the issues. Several of these links provide incredibly comprehensive information and you may feel you can make your decisions after reading just one.

• Group B Strep and Homebirth
• Midwife Lisa Barrett’s thoughts on GBS
• Comprehensive information on GBS from gentlebirth.org archives
• Group B Strep Protocol & relevant research
• Midwife recommended management options
• Treating Group B Strep: Are antibiotics necessary?
• How to treat a vaginal infection with a clove of garlic

Many people have been asking me what is going on with all the media frenzy over homebirths and midwives so I thought I would provide a quick summary of the main issue which is not about the safety of homebirth or midwives vs obstetricians but about a woman’s right to chose her caregiver and place of birth and right (if she choses) to refuse medical intervention.

Currently in Australia midwives are registered at a state level. In July 2010 national registration will come into effect. As part of registration, midwives will need to have indemnity insurance. Currently midwives practicing in hospitals are covered by the hospital insurance but Midwives in Private Practice (MIPPS) have been unable to get insurance since the insurance crisis in 2002. This is not due to their risk profile, they actually have a very good risk profile (very few claims) but because they are so small in number – there are only a couple of hundred MIPPS Australia wide which makes them not a viable commercial option for insurance companies.

Currently, without the ability to get insurance MIPPS will be practicing illegally from July 2010. But there will still be women wanting to give birth at home which is their CHOICE. They should be able to chose this option and to be attended by a qualified professional. Medical practitioners and their clients currently enjoy indemnity protection at an estimated cost of $500 million.

If you are passionate about women’s rights or even just basic human rights and would like to do something to help you can sign this petition, email or visit your fereral member: http://apps.aec.gov.au/esearch/

And write to:

Nicola Roxon
Minister for Health and Ageing
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600

Please don’t believe anything you read in the media – they are just trying to sell papers, not tell the truth so do the research for yourself. There are large and rigorous studies on homebirth showing it is not only as safe as hospital birth for low risk women but that there are less c-sections, inductions and episiotomies which has a flow-on effect on postnatal recovery, breastfeeding and postnatal depression rates. The developed countries with the highest levels of homebirth have the lowest mortality and morbidity rates – doesn’t that tell you something?