WATCHING the number of women pile through the doors of the Wallis Cinemas Mildura on Tuesday was mind-blowing. And empowering.
Many of the 150 women were mothers who had their unique birth story.
And now many of those mothers will be the driving force behind a change in the way we give birth in Mildura.
It’s a change I personally believe is needed.
While the birth of my daughter Grace in 2019 was beautiful, it wasn’t in the way that I would have liked for it to happen, due to the lack of options in Sunraysia.
I know this to also be true for many others, particularly those I spoke with about the topic following the screening of Birth Time.
Ealasaid Manson said it was after the birth of her daughter that she gained a better understanding of a need for change.
“I had a baby in 2019 and since having a baby have been even more aware of how broken our maternal health services are,” she said.
“At some point I would ideally like to have another baby and hopefully have a better experience.
“There is so much room for improvement and bettering the maternal health services for the future — ultimately to see a midwifery-led health care service available where you had the same person throughout and there were options out of the hospital setting.”
For Lesley Stephens, who welcomed her firstborn in 2019, the history of childbirth and how it has changed from being “women’s business” to the “medical model” is something she is particularly interested in.
“The documentary highlighted for me that women have been pushing back on a system that doesn’t work for them by seeking out alternative information like calm birth and hypnobirth at their own expense,” she said.
“It is very clear the traditional medical model has not caught up as quickly as it needs to.
“The documentary also highlighted that litigation or threat thereof often takes precedence over the wishes and best decisions for the birthing mother and her family, leading to unnecessary and damaging trauma.”
Both Ms Stephens and Ms Manson want to do what they can to make change.
“Being in a regional location means we do not have many choices when it comes to deciding how to birth our babies,” Ms Stephens said.
“Mildura parents deserve continuity of care in the public system, particularly after their baby is born.
“Antenatal support like calm birth, hypnobirth, a group midwifery program, the option to birth in water and significant postnatal support should be available to all women in Mildura to access through our public system.”
The documentary screening was organised by Sunraysia mother Dani Pick, who welcomed her daughter Piper into the world nine months ago.
Ms Pick hoped the screening would encourage local women to “join forces, speak up, and empower one another”.
