More pregnant women receive support from midwives, earlier

More pregnant women receive support from midwives - and earlier

“This bodes well for the wellbeing of everyone.”

That from the New Zealand College of Midwives today following the release of a Ministry of Health report on maternity care – Report on Maternity 2012 – http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/report-maternity-2012

NZCOM Chief Executive, Karen Guilliland says the report confirms the robustness of the midwifery-led maternity system in New Zealand as well as the high quality of care New Zealand women receive during their pregnancy and birth no matter where they live.

“More women are registering earlier in pregnancy with a midwife, accessing high quality, personalised care, information and advice during pregnancy through the labour and birth, and into the early weeks of parenting,” she says. “This is excellent news for our wider community as it results in a longer period of continuity of care – one of the cornerstones of our midwifery-led maternity system.”

Ms Guilliland says there’s more good news in the report around breastfeeding rates which continue to be high with 92% of women starting breastfeeding, with rates at two weeks following birth, sitting at 80%, all of which supports the health and development of a baby.

“This makes New Zealand the leading country in the world for breastfeeding initiation (women commencing breastfeeding after the birth of their baby). Ensuring information and support throughout pregnancy and in the first weeks following the birth as well as providing women with choices, helps to build positive parenting relationships. Healthy happy relationships are intrinsically linked to healthy brain development for the baby,” she says.

The College notes that the rate of caesarean sections continues to remain stable at 25% which is lower than many other countries such as Australia (31.4%) and lower than the OECD average rate (26.9%).It is particularly pleasing to note that the emergency caesarean rate has not risen. This is despite a background of increasing medical complexity due to issues such as obesity and increasing age.

The NZCOM CE adds that midwifery is determined to make sure mothers and babies continue to have trust and confidence in their maternity system and these reports help us with that goal.

ENDS

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