Aim
To implement a maternity model of care that promotes collaboration across the service, integrating evidence based practice.
Benefits
- Promotes a collaborative model of service delivery where midwives, medical officers, general practitioners and specialist obstetricians work together as a multidisciplinary team to provide care that is safe, evidenced based and patient centred.
- Recognises birth as a normal physiological event for many women and families, and identifies risks of pregnancy, labour and birth.
- Is woman-centred and ensures the woman can make informed choices about all elements of care, but also recognises the responsibility the woman has for decisions she makes outside the clinician’s recommendations.
- Clearly identifies roles and accountabilities of team members and endorses a just culture of accountability, safety and respect.
- Acknowledges that Queensland does not offer a publicly funded homebirth program and therefore West Moreton Hospital and Health Service (WMHHS) maternity services cannot support home birth as an appropriate place for birth.
Background
The National Maternity Plan (2011) sets out the Federal Government’s vision for maternity services that 'Maternity care will be woman-centred, reflecting the needs of each woman within a safe and sustainable quality system. All Australian women will have access to high-quality, evidence-based, culturally competent maternity care in a range of settings close to where they live'.
The Australian College of Midwives (ACM) Guidelines are used throughout Australia by midwives and health services providers in both private and public sectors as an effective guide to safe collaborative maternity care. The midwife is responsible for constantly assessing, determining and documenting maternal, foetal and neonatal wellbeing. In situations where a problem presents during the care of a woman or her baby, the midwife is guided in making evidence based decisions, and consultation and referral processes, via professional, and hospital policies and guidelines. Women and their babies benefit from a model of care which promotes and encourages close mutual collaboration between the primary care midwife and the obstetric and paediatric teams.
