Rotorua midwives hatch a plan to join protest action

Caraline Abbott has started a crowdfunding page to raise money to get 2 or 3 local midwives to a national protest in Wellington next month. Photo/Stephen Parker

Rotorua mum-of-three Caraline Abbott has been under the care of a midwife with each of her children.

But never the same one – and that hasn't been by choice. It's because the two midwives she had for her first two births either no longer work in Rotorua or in the profession.

A little over two weeks ago, Abbott went to a community meeting organised by local midwife Beth Matthews to show her support for a profession she says is unsustainable in its current form.

"The recent social media campaign protesting against the lack of a work/life balance and unfit payment for services has highlighted the unfair conditions New Zealand's midwives are faced with," Abbott said.

"In Rotorua, the number of community midwives has almost halved in recent years as the job is largely unsustainable. Midwives are working 60 hours a week with heavy workloads and dealing with increasing social issues."

At the meeting with four local midwives, Bay of Plenty-based Labour list MP Angela Warren-Clark and mums and babies, the idea was floated to get two of three Rotorua midwives to Wellington next month to take part in a national march on Parliament by midwives from around the country.

Practising midwives and their supporters have written letters detailing how hard it is to keep doing the job they love and plan to deliver the letters to Health Minister David Clark, who had been asked to attend, two days before International Midwives Day on May 5.

Abbott had started a Givealittle page to help with airfares and accommodation associated with attending the protest.

"Not only do attending midwives have to get to Wellington, they also have to organise a locum to cover their caseloads and pay for this from their own pocket," Abbott said.

Matthews confirmed the past 12 to 18 months had been particularly bad for local midwives leaving the profession.

"They either stop practising or move to Australia where conditions for midwives are so much better," Matthews said.

"It's tough for all midwives but community midwives are all on 24/7 and we've never received an on-call payment. For the first module of a pregnancy, we are paid $392, despite making the booking and the antenatal visits in this period."

Matthews said no other health professional would do it.

The College of Midwives and the Ministry of Health are designing a new funding model for community-based midwives, the result of which should be known when the Budget is delivered in May.