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Political comment: Autonomy for midwives

Abstract:

The Nurses Amendment Act 1990 Date of conception - 9 Nov 1989 Date of birth - 22 Aug 1990 Gestation - 41 weeks The passage of the Nurses Amendment Act just two days after the first National Conference of the NZCOMI will have far-reaching effects on New Zealand maternity services. NZ midwives and women must be extremely indebted to the Honorable Helen Clark for her determination to 'midwife' this Bill through its various stages of labour despite opposition from a strong medical lobby, the National Council of Women which wanted to retain the doctor as 'gatekeeper', and even senior nurses and midwives in the Waikato AHB. In a letter to the Minister of Health the latter expressed "anxiety about the lack of preparedness of many midwives for the expanded role associated with independent midwifery practice... lack of professional oversight... and of any formal auditing standards of midwifery care". Conceived on 9 November 1989 as a two-clause Bill amending section 42 of the Nurses Act 1977, it was introduced to Parliament by Helen Clark. During its pregnancy in the Select committee, 99 submissions were received.

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independent midwifery, Nurses Amendment Act 1990, professional autonomy