Newsroom columnist Emma Espiner confronts her prejudices about midwifery after meeting midwives who are frustrated they are being prevented from providing the care they believe the women of New Zealand deserve

13 December 2019   Midwives Petition Hits Over Ten Thousand Signatures More than 10,000 people have signed a petition launched a week ago, calling for better support and funding for community midwives. The 10k figure…

The time to push is now. The New Zealand College of Midwives has launched a petition and digital postcard campaign to raise awareness amongst politicians about the issues midwives are facing. The #backmidwives petition calls on the…

After broken promises and more than four years of negotiating with the Ministry of Health, the country’s midwives have had enough. “It is time to really push to get better support and funding for our…

The biggest ever Australian study on where women give birth has shown that giving birth at home or in a birthing unit is safe for well-women and babies.  This study confirms the existing evidence from New Zealand and other countries (such as the UK and Canada) that birthing in midwifery led units or at home reduces unnecessary birth interventions for women without compromising the safety of them or their babies.

MEDSAFE have issued an Alert Communication on medicines containing Ranitidine (Zantac) Medicines containing ranitidine may contain an impurity called N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). These medicines may be prescribed or can be purchased over the counter and are…

For the past four months, DIA Life Events, along with Ministry of Justice, IRD, the Service Innovation Lab, and Sands (a not-for-profit Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Support organisation) have been working to create a support…

A plea from midwives: ‘It’s not rocket science; improve the pay and conditions and we’ll come back to work’   https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/115818384/a-plea-from-midwives-its-not-rocket-science-improve-the-pay-and-conditions-and-well-come-back-to-work   For those who help bring new life into the world, stress is high and money low…

Wanaka will get a birthing unit with financial backing from National if it gets into power, leader Simon Bridges says. The Opposition leader announced their commitment to a primary birthing unit in Wanaka on Thursday,…