Third World Australia: Rural doctors hand out DIY birth kits to expecting mothers so they can have babies at the roadside because functioning maternity wards are so scarce
- Doctors in rural communities are being forced to hand out DIY birthing kits
- Expecting mothers are forced to travel upwards of four hours for treatment
- Medical professionals are providing the kits in case women can’t get to hospital
Doctors in rural communities are being forced to hand out DIY birthing kits because an increasing amount of mothers are having babies at the roadside.
Expecting mothers are being forced to travel upwards of four hours from some communities in rural Queensland just to seek medical attention.
Hospitals around the state have been forced to close down recently, meaning women in outback communities have lost access to nearby facilities.
Medical professionals are providing the kits out of fear women may not make the distance between their homes and hospitals during labour.
Doctors in rural communities are being forced to hand out DIY birthing kits as a precaution as an increasing amount of mothers are having babies at the roadside
The crisis comes as a number of hospitals around the state are forced to close down
Professionals are calling for the hospital wards to be reopened and staffed again as roadside birth rates skyrocket due to the distance between hospitals
The kits are similar to those third world agencies hand out overseas, containing gloves, umbilical cord clips and alcohol wipes and hope to provide the tools for a safe and easy home birth.
Despite the convenience of the packages, professionals warn they won’t be of much assistance in complicated births.
An anonymous rural nurse told The Sunday Mail the kits were to be used as a last resort.
‘It is good to know that women have a standby if things start to happen earlier than intended,’ she said.
She also encouraged all women to try to make it to the hospital as a first priority.
Professionals are calling for the hospital wards to be reopened and staffed again as roadside birth rates skyrocket due to the distance between hospitals.
Medical professionals are providing the kits out of fear women may not make the distance between their homes and hospitals during labour
Professionals are calling for the hospital wards to be reopened and staffed again as roadside birth rates skyrocket due to the distance between hospitals
GP obstetrician John Hall said he is aware of a birthing kit being distributed in certain cases.
‘This whole issue of people birthing on the side of the road, needing these kits is only going to get worse if the government don’t commit to keeping these services open and right now we’re in the situation where they’re shutting Chinchilla [hospital],’ Dr Hall said.
‘One of the problems with rural birthing, is if you don’t have a maternity unit close to you, then you have to move after 36 weeks, they recommend that you move and stay somewhere close to birth,’ Dr Hall said.
‘Just having a kit where she can clamp and cut off the cord, is not going to save the baby’s life if she has a major complication, it’s not going to save her if she has a major bleeding complication,’ he said.