Editorial: Midwives should be valued

Midwives do a very important job and work very long hours to do it.

Midwives work long hours, in high stress situations and are responsible for the lives of mothers and babies.

They do a job I could never do.

I don't have kids so have never dealt with a midwife first hand but I know a couple of women who work in the industry and it's easy to see the toll it takes on them physically.

They are on call 24/7 and are often delivering babies in the middle of the night. Their plans often turn to custard when one of their patients goes into labour earlier than expected.

It's a tough job which often leaves them exhausted.

The responsibility they carry is huge. Many women rely solely on a midwife and have very little input from doctors during their pregnancy and labour.

It's up to midwives to decide to seek help if they believe there is a problem and they are often the first ones blamed when something goes wrong.

New Zealand College of Midwives Bay of Plenty chairwoman Juliette Robinson said this week that midwives earned an average of $100,000 a year but only took home $53,000 of that after factoring in all the expenses of running a business.

There are expenses to running any business but most people who are self-employed can control what they charge out to cover the costs and make enough to live on.

That is not the case with midwives who have a flat rate set by the Government.

I agree midwives should be paid more.

I do not agree the reason for their pay rate has anything to do with their gender.

The reason plumbers and vets are paid more is because they operate as private companies and can charge what they like.

Midwives fees are dictated by the Government. They can't just charge as much as they want.

With the cost of living getting more and more expensive we can't expect midwives to continue to get by on their current pay rate.

It's a shame they have become so desperate they are taking legal action.

They are an essential service and we are only going to need more midwives as the country grows.

We need to be encouraging people in to the industry, not putting them off.