Expectant mothers in Noosa may from mid-next year have the option of a publicly funded home birth after Health Minister Shannon Fentiman last week announced an initial investment of $1.2 million to launch a new initiative – the first of its kind in Queensland, with Sunshine Coast chosen for the pilot.
Noosa mum Alecia Staines said the Sunshine Coast was selected after a long campaign run by her and her organisation Maternity Consumer Network.
Alecia said she had been invited in June to a Maternity Roundtable at Parliament House in Brisbane by Minister Fentiman which was where the Minister heard from women about the importance of homebirth options for women in Queensland.
“I have had many meetings with the Minister’s office and recommended the Sunshine Coast as a perfect spot to initiate the option for publicly funded homebirth for women and their families. It has been a collective effort by women, with support from within the Health Department and Sunshine Coast Health Chief Executive Dr Peter Gillies,” she said.
“I hosted the Queensland Maternity Roundtable earlier this year and women told me they wanted three things: they wanted choice, they wanted continuity of care, and they wanted to be able to give birth closer to home.“
Currently, Queensland women can choose to birth at home through privately practicing midwives.
Under the new initiative this will be expanded to Queensland Health midwives employed under a Midwifery Group Practice Model on the Sunshine Coast.
As part of this new service, Queensland Health midwives on the Sunshine Coast will provide evidence-based care to women who have opted for a homebirth and who have a low-risk pregnancy.
Since 2018 the number of home births in Queensland has increased from 141 in 2018 to 320 in 2022.
To determine whether publicly funded homebirth is a suitable and safe option for the woman and her baby, a number of criteria will be considered, including
the health needs of both the mother and her baby, that the pregnancy must involve only one baby, not twins or triplets, that the pregnancy must have reached full term, the home environment being assessed as safe and suitable for a home birth and the home environment is within a safe travel distance to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital (SCUH) in case of an emergency.
Alecia said women at the maternity roundtable told her they wanted access to maternity care in their local community with a known midwife.
“They definitely want access to maternity services and also homebirth options,“ she said. “This has been a campaign over several Health Ministers.
“Currently, women are self funding homebirth at a price of around $6000.
“Noosa is 45 minutes down to SCUH and plenty of homebirths are occurring already in Noosa and out in the hinterland that need to account for transfer.
“Midwives I have spoken to about this are very supportive of homebirth options with a radius up to Noosa and surrounds.“
Queensland Health will assess the outcomes of the initiative by evaluating various factors, including safety, quality, benefits to women, consumer interest, consumer feedback and sustainability.
This evaluation will guide future planning and decision-making including consideration of the viability of the service in other parts of the state.
Prior to this pilot, Queensland and Tasmania remained the only Australian states to not offer publicly funded homebirths.
“Queensland women deserve access to high-quality, respectful, and reliable maternity services, and this new service is a significant step towards expanding those options available,“ Ms Fentiman said.
“This service provides additional options for low-risk pregnant women to give birth in the comfort of their own homes, aligning with our commitment to delivering care closer to where women live.“
Sunshine Coast Health Chief Executive Dr Peter Gillies said he was proud Sunshine Coast Health would be the site for Queensland’s first publicly funded home birth service, as an extension of their birthing services offered to local women.
“Homebirth provides women with a choice of location for the birth of their baby. Research shows planned homebirth for selected women has similar safety outcomes to hospital birth when attended by a skilled midwife,“ he said.
The publicly funded homebirth service is expected to start at Sunshine Coast University Hospital from mid-2024.
