Women’s experiences of Australia’s national maternity care Strategy

What is it about?

This study sought to understand the maternity care experiences of women in relation to Australia’s national maternity strategy, called 'Woman-centred care: strategic directions for Australian maternity services. We examined the open text responses of women from across Australia who participated in a national survey about the values of the Strategy (safety, respect, choice and access) and how these were experienced in relation to their maternity care. It shows that the Strategy is ‘great in theory’ but that women often don't receive the kind of maternity care that the Strategy describes. A nationally coordinated response is required if the Strategy is to move from policy to practice, ensuring that women in Australia receive true woman-centred maternity care as intended.

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Photo by Olivia Anne Snyder on Unsplash

Photo by Olivia Anne Snyder on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Australia has a national maternity care strategy that states that all Australian women should receive care in line with. The intent of the Strategy is that all Australian women should receive safe, respectful care with access to their services of choice. The Strategy has a special focus on Australia's priority populations - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, women from a culturally and linguistically divers background and rural or remote-dwelling women. One in three Australian women experience birth trauma, indicating that maternity care in Australia does not set women up well for an empowering antenatal and birthing experience and smooth transition to early parenting. As a system, maternity care in Australia needs to do better. Especially among Australia's priority populations who are the most vulnerable and, as this study demonstrated, least likely to receive care according to the Strategy.

Perspectives