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Sevenoaks Chronicle - Midwifery Rules May Deny Mums a Choice - 19th Apr 07 |
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MIDWIFERY RULES MAY DENY MUMS A CHOICE KRISTY BOURNE
15:00 - 19 April 2007
Mums-to-be in Sevenoaks could lose their choice of where and how to give birth should Government plans make independent midwifery illegal.
Kent Midwifery Practice is one of the busiest practices in the UK and the service is very popular among women in Sevenoaks.
But plans to make all health professionals take out insurance could seriously affect the maternity service.
The Independent Midwives Association (IMA) said its members cannot get professional indemnity insurance because childbirth is a high risk area for insurers as blame is often hard to prove and insurance payouts can run into millions of pounds.
It warns without a review, independent midwifery will effectively become illegal which will put even more pressure on NHS services which are already struggling to cope.
Virginia Howes is one of two partners who run Kent Midwifery Practice. She said: "If independent midwives do not exist, women will not have a choice and it will be NHS or nothing. Hospital birth has only been around for about 40 years, yet women have been giving birth for centuries."
Sophie Wright is a mother of three from Sevenoaks. She gave birth to her first child, Archie, four, on the NHS, but after a traumatic birth, which left her unable to bond with him for weeks, she turned to independent midwifery.
She said: "The whole experience was traumatic and not something I wanted to go through again so I started looking at continuity of care."
Mrs Wright began working with Mrs Howes halfway through her second pregnancy and was delighted with the difference. She said: "Virginia was incredibly positive throughout the entire process and it really gave me such a confidence."
Her other two sons, Adam, two, and Billy, eight-months, were born naturally at home.
"After Archie I never thought I would ever have a natural birth again let alone two home births," she said. "I was so proud and empowered to be able to do it all on my own.
"I would like another child and I'm really worried I won't have the choice of independent midwifery. I don't know what I'll do but there's no way I would ever have another baby on the NHS."
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