Last month, Lauren Solca was the first woman to have a water birth in the women’s care ward of Murwillumbah District Hospital.
The Tweed Valley Birthing Service has been providing pregnancy, birth and postnatal care to women in the Tweed Valley and Tweed coast region for nearly four years and recently the service was accredited to incorporate the concept of water birthing.
‘Lauren and partner Dave Warne are the proud parents of baby Grace, their second child. Grace’s birth will not only be memorable for her parents but also for the midwives,’ said Cheryl Colley, midwifery unit manager.
‘Providing a water-birth option for women is another way the local midwifery-led service can offer more birthing choices for women,’ Ms Colley said.
Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSW LHD) executive director of nursing and midwifery Annette Symes said, ‘Since the implementation of the midwifery-led model of care, which commenced at Lismore Base Hospital in 2009, this model is available in midwifery units at Mullumbimby and Murwillumbah Hospitals’.
The midwifery-led model of care offers women with a normal pregnancy an alternative to traditional maternity care. Women who use this model are able to have continuity of care with the same midwife throughout their pregnancy, birth and early post-natal experience.
‘This service was in response to the growing worldwide recognition that midwife-led care offers an appropriate and cost-effective maternity-care option for women experiencing a normal pregnancy and birth,’ Annette Symes said.
‘Building a relationship with a midwife has proven successful for women in the region. In addition, research indicates that women receiving care from a known midwife experience lower rates of unnecessary intervention, excellent outcomes and higher rates of satisfaction,’ said Ms Colley.
If you are interested in finding out more about the Tweed Valley Birthing Service, please call the midwives on (02) 6672 0108.
