20-06-2025
NSW parents welcome funding for midwife-led care after birth trauma inquiry
Parents involved in a landmark inquiry into birth trauma are welcoming an almost $45 million investment in maternity care described as the "gold standard".
The NSW government has allocated $83 million to maternity care in the upcoming state budget.
More than half, $44.8 million, will go towards expanding the state's midwife-led program, Midwifery Group Practice (MGP).
The MGP funding will include an additional 53 midwife roles in regional and remote NSW, with improved training for clinicians in respectful maternity care and enhanced antenatal education for patients in the wider package.
The announcement comes 12 months after the inquiry, widely described as a "me too" moment for birth trauma, handed down its final report.
It attracted more than 4,000 submissions and held six hearings.
The report recommended more access to continuity of care programs like the MGP, and more midwives.
Natalie Webb lives in Tumbarumba and was one of the first women to go public with her experience of birth trauma, also giving evidence at the Wagga Wagga hearing of the inquiry.
She said her traumatic birth, in which pain relief was withheld, could have been avoided with access to continuity of care.
"That would have made a huge difference to me — having someone I knew and could trust and who could have advocated for [me] when I couldn't advocate for myself," she said.
She still deals with the trauma three years on and hopes the funding will improve outcomes.
"I'm not going to have another child now because it's too traumatic, and that's something my husband and I are going to have to deal with for the rest of our lives," she said.
The president of Illawarra-based advocacy group Better Birth Illawarra, Sharon Settecasse, fought back tears as she described the announcement as "phenomenal".
"We're overjoyed by this announcement … we're a bit speechless to be honest," she said.
In the MGP, a woman sees the same midwife before, during and after birth.
The Birth Inquiry's final report identified it as the "gold standard" of maternity care, calling for increased investment in it.
It also recommended funding for other programs and services, including the GP obstetrician workforce.
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) welcomed the funding, calling women's health an "underfunded" area.
"Whilst investment in bolstering the midwifery workforce is valuable, RANZCOG emphasises that a multidisciplinary framework is essential to meet the complex needs of all women and birthing people," they said.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said the inquiry had "a huge impact" on him, and the funding decision was made off the back of advocacy he heard before and during.
"Time and time again [I heard] continuity of care with a known midwife is really important, and I've also spoken to obstetricians who said that is an area where we need to improve," he said.
"To be blunt, I was sick of reading about [birth trauma], I was sick of hearing about it, I wanted to use this budget to try and deal with some of the issues."
He said the funding will begin to roll out "straight away" and new midwives should be on the ground within two years, depending on recruitment.
The birth inquiry was announced off the back of a mass complaint about maternity care at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, submitted by the Maternity Consumer Network (MCN) on behalf of 30 women.
MCN founder Alecia Staines said today's funding was a win for the women who came forward.
"Credit where credit is due; those initial women of Wagga Wagga were crucial and hats off to them," she said.
"It's not easy, and it's such a brave thing they have done, and this is a lasting legacy and something they can be proud of that has come from their pain and suffering."
