Women in the region will have access to extra maternity care following the launch of Cohuna District Hospital’s Midwifery Group Practice (MGP) service. The MGP was launched at the hospital on Friday, May 5 – the International Day of the Midwife – to an audience of community members, officials and hospital staff.

In what some would say is akin to the care shown in the television drama ‘Call the Midwife’, pregnant women will have access to personalised pre-natal and post-natal care in-home and in hospital, all at no cost.

“MGP is the work of caseload midwives enabling women to be cared for by the primary midwife, supported by a small group of midwives throughout their pregnancy, during childbirth and in the early weeks at home with a new baby,” said Director of Clinical Services Wendy Lunghusen.

“The real gold standard,” Ms Lunghusen says, “is the ‘continuity of carer’ model, where you see the same midwife or midwives throughout your whole pregnancy, so that when you have your baby, and in the weeks after, you are getting care from someone you know well and trust.”

Since the retirement of Dr Peter Barker from obstetrics in 2021, the hospital has not been able to offer birthing in Cohuna, but the passionate midwives at Cohuna District Hospital (CDH) were determined to build a program that offered mothers and families the best care locally.

CEO Bernadette Loughnane said the program has been brought together by four elements – an available cohort of midwives, a community need, a determined board, and an expert maternity governance group.

“The MGP service is a pregnancy model of care that enables services to be individualised by midwives throughout the pregnancy and postnatal period,” Ms Loughnane said.

“With its evidence-based model of care, MGP has been shown to contribute to lower rates of intervention, lower risk of pre-term birth and fetal loss, and higher rates of maternal satisfaction.

“The MGP will allow mothers and babies to continue to receive the high quality and safe care they expect from Cohuna District Hospital closer to home and will be overseen by the Maternity Governance Group. This will include representatives from local and regional expert clinicians and, most importantly, mothers from the community.”

Ms Loughnane said the MGP aligns with the hospital’s CARE values – care for mothers and newborn, accountability for providing care closer to home, respect for our community, and equality of opportunity for our midwives.

It is hoped that further phases of the program will provide the opportunity for women to birth at Cohuna District Hospital again, however, for now, the hospital and midwives are excited to have launched a program that will see women and families receive the best care they can.

This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 11 May 2023.