TEN years of providing women in Broken Hill and surrounds access to continuity of midwifery care was celebrate by the Broken Hill Midwifery Group at the Far West Local Health District this week.
The milestone was marked on Tuesday with a cake to celebrate the occasion.
Under the model, care throughout pregnancy, labour, birth and two weeks of birth is seen to by a primary midwife, who are able to support mothers through the journey.
Far West Local Health District executive director of nursing and midwifery Wendy Gleeson said more than 1970 babies have been born over the past 10 years since the program’s inception.
“This is an exciting achievement for our maternity services, and we continue to serve local women, with the 2000th baby expected to be born under this model by the end of winter,” Ms Gleeson said.
“Sustaining a Midwifery Group Practice, particularly in a rural area, requires enormous commitment and passion from our dedicated midwives providing respectful, evidence based maternity care to women in the Far West.
“When Far West Local Health District launched the Broken Hill Midwifery Group Practice in 2015, it was a significant and exciting change and we are extremely proud to achieve this incredible milestone and to provide women in the Far West with access to a known midwife throughout their pregnancy, birth and postnatal experience.
“The commitment of past and present midwives, obstetricians and managers to support the Broken Hill MGP to sustain operations from the early years, throughout the pandemic and beyond speaks volumes of the positive impact the continuity of care model has had on both health outcomes and the value of the model.
“We look forward to the Broken Hill Midwifery Group Practice providing many more years of care and support for the women, babies and families of the Far West.”
Midwife manager Chelsea Anderson said the experience of the program for mothers has been positive and the team are proud of what they’ve been able to achieve.
“Women value the ability to build trust with a known midwife which makes them feel comfortable discussing their concerns and asking questions,” she said.
“We are so proud that our MGP is turning 10 years old and that our MGP has helped other maternity services in Australia implement their model of midwifery care.
“We really do have the best job in the world.”
Broken Hill’s Rotary Club marked the milestone by donating $10,000 to help refurbish the birthing room at the hospital.
