Midwife-led care

Midwife and researcher Ellie Wernham and Prof Diana Sarfati discuss their work showing worse outcomes under midwife-led care, and the Ministry of Health's coordination with the College of Midwives in response to that work.



Government policy might not change, but you can update your practice.

The practice we followed a bit over a decade ago:

1. Find a midwife the second you think you're pregnant - or even earlier. Get one with proper training, not just the midwife certificate. You want a midwife who had rigorous nurse's training prior to going in for specialisation in midwifery. The ones who have training go very quickly. If you wait, you will be left with a midwife with weaker training. 
2. Pay for shared care with an obstetrician anyway. In 2008, we paid a fixed price of $2k; in 2010, it was $3k. At the time, it was about the same price as a decent flat-screen TV; we kept the old CRT around for a few more years instead. Having your obstetrician available on-call during delivery to provide a c-section if needed is worth it. 

Previously: The Midwives have a history