Midwifes and Medicare

There was an interesting question posed on Q and A last night about midwives... apparently Nicola Roxon (the Australian Minister for Health and Aging) is suggesting that midwives who go about their midwif-ly duties in a hospital setting should be able to access the same sort of insurance and benefits to which doctors and nurses are currently entitled. This would not, however, extend to home births with no medical supervision.

Some women are visably distraught and upset about this - for some reason that I can't quite understand they seem to believe that their ability to choose how they have their baby is being taken away from them. I can appreciate that, if that was the case, it would cause distress to anyone facing such a big moment... but the arguement to me seems absolute rubbish. The choice is still open, and as with any choice there are consequences to take into account. These might be financial, health related or social but to expect that the repercussions of your choices should be equal is just ridiculous.

Personally I think the opportunity to choose a midwife rather than a doctor is a huge step forward. While I can appreciate the appeal of a world where giving birth at home and giving birth in a hospital carried the same amount of risk and was therefore a choice on preference rather than medical or financial reasons, that is a little unrealistic and places a huge burden on the rest of society to cater to the whims and fancies of every single individual. Of course, having never been pregnant or given birth, nor being a medical professional I have zero experience in professing my opinion... but I would like to think that one day it is a choice I would have to make and that I wouldn't expect the entire community to shoulder the risk and consequences of my own personal preferences. Just saying.