Action needed on Mount Isa Hospital birthing pool
It has been over two years since the renovations on the Maternity Ward at the Mount Isa Base Hospital.
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This renovation included the installation of a birthing pool for the purpose of water immersion in labour; not to birth in.
This pool is still not in use and never has been. Since it has been installed, women have been told the same thing “we are waiting for staff training”.
Staff training? Its not even for birthing in?
Do midwives with university degrees need in-depth training in how to keep the temperature of the water at a safe level?
I’m sure our medicalised maternity system will go above and beyond to risk most women out of utilising this wonderful pain relief before their birthing time comes; so we need not worry about ‘high risk’ women in the water.
How is it, that midwives are STILL unable to get training, years on - This is 100% political. “Lets get a birth pool in there, make it look like we are caring well for our birthing women and meeting their requests and providing them with options’.
In reality it is all for show, how could it not be? Water immersion in labour reduces the need for epidurals, which decreases the need for instrumental births, which can be traumatic for women and babies and include episiotomy, forceps, vaccum delivery.
Not to mention the expense of epidural, and the skill level needed to do one.
Why is a pool of water so demonised by our medical system and the medical doctors running the hospital?
Imagine the outcry if we decided we had no funding and no one skilled in the costly epidural? There would be OUTRAGE.
Yet we can provide no training for our midwives in something as powerful and simple as water immersion in labour?
Where are women’s options?
We want more than just hardcore pharmaceutical pain relief.
This is an absolute, blatant disrespect of birthing women in our region.
There is no priority, despite all the well documented, evidenced based research on the safety and benefits that come with water immersion in labour.
I would love to know the astronomical amounts our health service spends on bringing specialists to town to deal with injuries and diseases caused by alcohol and poor diets, yet healthy women at one of the most powerful times of their life cannot access a tub in the hospital!?
Where are our advocates?
Passionate & Angry Mount Isa Local
(name and address supplied)
The NWHHS responds
The pool in the Maternity birthing suite at Mount Isa Hospital has been ready for use by women for water immersion for pain relief in labour since April 2018. Staff are trained and our newest recruitment of midwives have completed their learning package and are scheduled to complete mandatory training for the emergency evacuation of a woman from the pool.
Our midwives are promoting the pool at every opportunity and we look forward to the women of our community benefiting from the use of the pool during labour. Currently we have several expectant mothers interested in using the pool for pain relief. The Director of Obstetrics and Gynaecology is looking forward to the pool being used. We welcome any feedback from the women who do use the pool.
I would like to take this opportunity to invite you and other community members to our Community Midwifery Forums in Mount Isa Wednesday July 18 and Cloncurry Thursday July 19. Details will be confirmed in the coming weeks. These forums will assist us in determining the needs of mothers and families in our communities and will help us create a sustainable midwifery service reflective of community needs.
Michelle Garner
Executive Director Nursing and Midwifery and Clinical Services
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Our story PM is waiting for someone to invite him to North West Queensland attracted a lot of comment
Tk Flanno I'm not sure he could afford the Qantas flight... no one can
Kim Forshaw Yes pay ridiculous price for flight one way and drive over the unsafe Barkly/ flinders highway the other way to see what people have to contend with.
Merilyn Harding Yes please. Mount Isa is a small town. So he will not need wheels. I feel he should by himself walk to all his functions by foot and especially at night time. Lets see how safe he will feel.
Kerry N James Derrick Drop him off in the Bronx
Tami Neundorf Shorter maybe he can fill his suitcase up with the poop kits when he visits and hand them out round town
Lynne Henderson He needs to discover this place - it is unique. He needs to come and say Well Done . Thank you for the work you do because you have been responsible for making the country rich! And then subsidise our air fares as a way of showing Thanks!
Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
