Primary birthing and National standards for maternity care.

I was just reading the New Zealand Maternity Standards document from the Ministry of Health. Standard three states "All women have access to a nationally consistent, comprehensive range of maternity services that are funded and provided appropriately to ensure there are no financial barriers to access for eligible women."

There is however no primary birthing facility option for women birthing in Dunedin. There is no national consistency in the provision of primary birthing facilities for women. This is a matter that needs to be addressed if we are to support women to birth without medical intervention.