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Community Birth Services: Great Home Births in the Manawatu

Abstract:

The early 1990s saw rapid health reforms in Aotearoa/New Zealand. In the Manawatu, the Manawatu Home Birth Association (MHBA) was both active and well supported by consumers and midwives. Concern regarding the impact of these health reforms on home birth resulted in a decision to proactively pursue a contract with the Central Regional Health Authority (CRHA) to ensure that home birth remained a viable, safe and appropriate option for all concerned. This article will look at the development of Community Birth Services Trust (CBS), an umbrella organisation for the delivery of home birth services. This will be followed by an outline of the current operation and provision of CBS services, highlighting some of the critical factors to the success of this service to date. This success is best measured by those who use the service and therefore the last words are comments from both consumers and midwives.

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health reforms, home birth, Maori, partnership between consumers and midwives