Maternity Care in Australia

Maternity Care in Australia

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to expand the boundaries of our knowledge by exploring some relevant information relating to the analysis of maternity care in Australia. In Australia, the natural processes of pregnancy and birth are believed to be steered by the involvement of midwives and family physicians (Johnston & Preston, 2001). An active cooperation exists between gynecologists and midwives, so that in the event of complications, they could offer specialized care in hospitals (OECD, 2011).

In this paper, we intend to evaluate the overall experience involved in pregnancy, birth and the postnatal care from a mother's point of view. We would also scrutinize the economic and political conditions under which most Australian midwives work. Finally, the major challenges faced by both the mothers and midwives in Australia would also be discussed.

Discussion & Analysis

a) Do mothers have a case for change?

Experience of Pregnancy

It has been observed that pregnant women often experience morning sickness. Morning sickness during pregnancy involves feelings of vomit and Nausea. Although, the feeling usually occurs early in the morning, however it might go on during the whole day. Most often, such feelings occur during the 6th week of pregnancy and it continues till the 13th week. If the patient is in good health before pregnancy, your baby will not be affected by morning sickness. Morning sickness is a discomfort in the stomach, nausea or vomiting that commonly occurs during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. Women whose hormone levels of pregnancy are high tend to have Morning sickness, which also occur during other pregnancies. They are also more common among women who wear more than one baby (like twins or triplets). Pregnant women are often faced with depression (Panter, 2008). The issues with pregnant women are not limited to a region; but tend to be global. Women are faced with similar issues in all parts of the world. The practice of midwifery has become quite common in Australia and more research is being conducted on the topic. A discussion on the Postnatal period care, role of midwives and the economic and political conditions of Australia would certainly provide us a better understanding of the topic.

Postnatal Period

For Postnatal care, the mother should follow the physician's prescription strictly. If the delivery is done through major operation then the mother is suggested to fast for at least 24 hours. After the delivery, the mother is suggested to take extra of their diet, oily food should be avoided and use of milk and fluids should be adapted. Although the emotional state of the mother after delivery and quality of postnatal care are clearly involved in many aspects of child development, scientists suggest that prenatal factors also have considerable effects (Vernon, 2007).

Suggestions

In order to suggest the best course of action during and after chid birth, I would like to share the experience of one of my friend. She was faced with severe depression during her pregnancy. This condition did not only prove harmful ...