Better health and ageing for all Australians

Improving Maternity Services in Australia

Table 2: Models of maternity care

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Model

Features

Private Maternity Care

Private patients of an obstetrician or GP obstetrician; attend private rooms for care in pregnancy and attended by the same obstetrician/GP for labour and postnatal care.

Public Hospital Clinic Care

Antenatal care in a public hospital outpatient clinic; attend the same hospital for labour and postnatal care; pregnancy and intrapartum care provided under the supervision of medical staff, uncomplicated births usually attended by midwives.

Public Hospital Midwives' Clinic

Antenatal care is provided by a public hospital midwives' clinic, with one or more visits to a consultant or registrar; intrapartum care is provided under the supervision of medical staff, uncomplicated births usually attended by midwives.

Birth Centre Care

Team midwifery care within a separate section of a hospital where midwives provide antenatal, intrapartum and postpartum care.

Shared Maternity Care

Formal arrangements between a public hospital and local practitioner (GP, obstetrician, midwife); the majority of pregnancy care is provided by a local practitioner, with visits to the hospital at the beginning and latter part of pregnancy; public hospital intrapartum care.

Combined Maternity Care

Similar to shared maternity care but does not involve pregnancy check-ups at a public hospital clinic.

Team Midwifery Care

 

Small teams of public hospital midwives care for women throughout pregnancy, labour, birth and the hospital stay, with one or more visits to a consultant or registrar.

Caseload Midwifery Care

Ongoing care with the same public hospital midwife for the majority of antenatal, labour, birth and postnatal care.

GP/Midwife Public Care

GPs and hospital-employed midwives jointly provide antenatal care to women enrolled for public hospital intrapartum care.

Outreach Midwifery Care

Midwife care for women with high social or obstetric risk, focus on support and education; intrapartum and postnatal care provided by a public hospital.

Planned Homebirths

Pregnancy check-ups, intrapartum and postnatal care provided by the same midwife; transfer to hospital in the case of complications as a private patient of a GP or obstetrician; may require a number of visits with a medical practitioner.


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Table of Contents
Improving Maternity Services in Australia
  Foreword
  Introduction
  Key Issues for the Maternity Services Review
   1. Safety and Quality
   2. Access to a Range of Models of Care
   3. Inequality of Outcomes and Access
    3.1 Rural
    3.2 Indigenous
   4. Information and Support for Women and Their Families
   5. The Maternity Workforce
   6. Financing Arrangements
    6.1 Commonwealth Funding
    6.2 Professional Indemnity
  Next Steps: Developing a National Plan
  Figures
   Figure 1: Number of women who die in childbirth, Australia, 1991-2006
   Figure 2: Number of infant deaths to one year of age, Australia, 1996-2006, 5-yearly
   Figure 3: Perinatal mortality, international comparison, 1996-2006
   Figure 4: Maternal mortality, international comparison, 1996-2006
   Figure 5: Rates of caesarean sections by hospital sector, Australia, 1991-2006
   Figure 6: Rates of caesarean section by hospital, New South Wales, 2005
   Figure 7: Homebirths, Australia, 1991-2006
   Figure 8: Hospitals and birth centres, by number of women who gave birth, Australia, 1991, 1999 and 2006
   Figure 9: Breastfeeding: the first 12 months
   Figure 10: Indicative maternity services workforce
   Figure 11: Obstetric benefits under Medicare, 2007-08
   Figure 12: Obstetric benefits under Medicare, 2007-08
  Tables
   Table 1: Women who gave birth, by place of birth, 2006
   Table 2: Models of maternity care
  Attachments
   Attachment A - Summary of Recommendations
   Attachment B - The Consultation Process
  References