National MP Catherine Wedd shares traumatic birth story, bill drawn to give new mums longer hospital stays

National Tukituki MP Catherine Wedd and her daughter, Sophie, 13. Photo / Warren Buckland

It’s emotional for National MP Catherine Wedd to recall the hospital room where she gave birth being crowded with doctors and the sudden feeling that bringing her first child into the world could be a matter of life and death.

The Tukituki MP has shared her traumatic birth story with the Herald after her member’s bill to provide longer hospital stays for women after having their babies was pulled from the ballot.

Her daughter, Sophie, now 13, became stuck during her birth, Wedd said.

“The whole room was full of specialists and people trying to just get the baby out safely, and suddenly you realise this could be a life-and-death situation.

“Fortunately, and it makes me feel a little bit emotional thinking back to that first birth, she did come out safely, but then she was whisked away from me very quickly and taken to SCBU (special care baby unit).

“I was overwhelmed. I was emotional. I was just trying to process everything that had just happened.”

Wedd said she felt an “emotional emptiness” when Sophie was immediately taken away and she started questioning: “Is she all right? What have I done?”

“I’m a very structured person and very organised and when it wasn’t going to plan, and when it didn’t go to plan, I felt pressure on myself because I thought I hadn’t done a good job, but you shouldn’t feel like that because birth is not like that.”

Catherine Wedd: “I was overwhelmed. I was emotional. I was just trying to process everything that had just happened.” Photo / Warren Buckland

Wedd said she felt pushed to leave the hospital early, but her midwife advocated for her to stay longer while Sophie spent three days recovering from an infection in SCBU.

Wedd’s Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) (3 Day Postnatal Stay) Amendment Bill would provide women who have just given birth with their choice of postnatal care for a minimum of 72 hours, if desired.

“Women are currently entitled to up to 48 hours of funded inpatient postnatal care, but many women don’t realise this and at times are pressured to leave early”, the bill’s general policy statement says.

“That is why this bill proposes to increase entitlement to up to 72 hours so an expectation is better set for women to stay for up to three days, if they so choose, and includes the mandatory requirement for mothers to be advised of their choices by the lead maternity carer.”

The funding would be ring-fenced for postnatal care so that when a mother may choose not to take up the full 72 hours, the funding is retained and available for another mum who may need more time.

Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora interim national chief midwife Deborah Pittam explained quality postnatal care was helping parents and babies as they learned about each other.

“In these first days, women are recovering from their labour and birth and, in some cases, surgery. They are also bonding and getting to know their baby, learning their baby’s cues, and understanding breastfeeding or feeding needs.

“In addition, the transition from pregnancy to post-partum is a significant shift for a woman’s body as she establishes lactation and heals from birth.”

Babies also experienced a huge transition from in utero to living out in the world, Pittam said.

“This shift comes with significant physiological changes, as well as learning to breastfeed, bonding with parents and becoming a family. At around 24 hours of age, they should have a newborn screening test (heel prick).”

Longer hospital stays after birth questioned amid midwife shortage

Last month the Herald revealed there were at least 330 vacancies nationwide for midwives employed by Health New Zealand, casting doubt on the nill.

The vacancy rate in the Central region was the worst, 40.7 per cent, meaning two in five midwife jobs were vacant. This region includes Wellington, Hawke’s Bay and Whanganui.

Labour’s health spokeswoman, Ayesha Verrall, said wards needed better resourcing to make extended hospital stays a reality.

“That needs to be a priority, otherwise it’s a very hollow gesture to put forward this bill.”

The rate of vacancies was unacceptably high and left nurses to step in and fill the gaps, Verrall said.

The Labour Party said it would seek further answers before determining a final position on whether to support the bill at its first reading.

Labour health spokeswoman Ayesha Verrall says wards need better resourcing to make extended hospital stays a reality. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Greens confirmed they would support it, but the party’s health spokeswoman, Hūhana Lyndon, shared concerns about resourcing.

“If this bill was passed as the system currently stands, new mothers taking up the three-day entitlement may end up putting additional unfunded pressure on the healthcare system.

“The Government had the opportunity to deliver funding to Health New Zealand to ensure it meets this new obligation through the Budget, instead they chose to deliver cost-pressure increases to maintain current health policy settings only — not the increased level of service this bill would require.”

Te Pāti Māori said it was looking to support the bill.

Act’s caucus hasn’t agreed to support the bill at its first reading. The party acknowledged the first few days of care were vital, but was awaiting further information on the fiscal implications, specifically whether it could be fiscally neutral.

New Zealand First said its caucus was yet to consider the bill, but noted the provision of three-day stays for new mothers was in its coalition agreement with National.

Some mums want to leave hospital ‘as fast as possible’

New Zealand College of Midwives midwifery adviser Claire MacDonald was not sure how much difference a piece of legislation would make on its own, given many decisions about stays were based on capacity in maternity facilities.

“Some already offer longer periods of care because they have the capacity to able to do that, and some already don’t offer as long as even 48 hours because they don’t have the capacity.”

The recruitment and retention of midwives in maternity facilities and the community would be crucial to making the bill work, MacDonald said.

She stressed postnatal care in New Zealand extended beyond the facilities some women chose to stay in after birth and continued for up to six weeks at home.

The midwifery workforce employed by Health New Zealand is heading in the right direction — it increased by 10 per cent in 2023.

Health Minister Shane Reti has said growing the health workforce was a priority for the Government. Health New Zealand was focused on supporting and attracting people to the profession, retaining midwives, and encouraging those who had left the profession to return, Reti said.

Birth Trauma Aotearoa founder and chief executive Kate Hicks agreed with MacDonald there needed to be support in hospital and in the community.

“What we find is that often families who have experienced birth trauma either really want to stay longer in hospital as they need the support, or families want to get out of there as fast as possible as it is the place that caused their trauma.”

Hicks supported the bill and said longer postnatal stays could improve maternal wellbeing.

“We need to remember that often Mum is exhausted, still adjusting to having a newborn, and potentially traumatised or injured by her birth. Oftentimes the postnatal stay is a vital time for the parents to take a breath, gather some energy and support before heading home. Mum and whānau receive less care if they are pressed to leave early.”

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.