Northern Territory
Welcome to the Northern Territory Branch Page
The NT is a fabulous place to live and work. Come on up! Experience the Territory lifestyle and superb climate. We need midwives, and hey, we have a home birth service in Alice Springs and Darwin, and a community midwifery service in Darwin with rooms in the community close to a major shopping centre. How good is that! We welcome new graduates; your enthusiasm is refreshing. Don’t put it off any longer, come for a short or long stay; contact a branch committee member for further information.
or go here
Branch Meetings
We hold our meetings on the first Wednesday of every month in a community room located in the Hibiscus shopping centre in Leanyer, a Darwin suburb. Alice Springs, Nhulunbuy (Gove) and Katherine join in by teleconference. See you soon
Jenny
NT Branch President
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MEDIA RELEASE
Warning NT is falling behind as the world celebrates midwives’ day
As midwives around the world celebrate the enormous contribution of their profession to the health of childbearing women and their families, here in the Territory questions are being raised about why so few women have access to one-to-one continuity of care by a midwife.
There are 1100 midwives registered in the NT and only a small percentage is in practice.
The Australian College of Midwives (NT Branch) is concerned that midwives are being underutilized in the Territory’s maternity services.
At present nurses who are not qualified to practice midwifery are being employed in midwifery positions in NT public hospitals, while skilled midwives are unable to provide women with midwifery care and services. Some of the reasons are: restrictive legislation, medical monopoly especially in NT public hospitals, and the lack of opportunities for midwives to provide primary care to women and their families.
“Attracting and keeping midwives in the Territory is difficult because midwives are not offered a variety of work, particularly in models of care that are oriented towards families and place the women at the centre of care.” said Associate Professor Sue Kildea, spokesperson for the NT branch of the Australian College of Midwives.
“There is very little midwifery care offered outside of acute hospitals. Midwives should be able to work with women, close to where the women and their families live, in the suburbs and communities.”
“The NT Government has a responsibility to provide leadership and commitment to pregnant women and their families by providing safe, satisfying and non-discriminatory midwifery care for all NT women.”
“We’re calling upon the Minister for Health to publicly release the latest Maternity Services Review that may address some of these issues.” The review was completed in November 2007 but has yet to be released.
If NT families are to have a healthy start to life, it is essential that we resolve the barriers to accessing primary care by midwives.” Dr Kildea said.
Australian College of Midwives, NT Branch
Contact: Associate Professor Sue Kildea: 0418 289 199
Why Join Your Local Branch?
Watch a colourful presentation for your local branch highlighting the benefits of territory and national membership to your College.
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Branch Committee Members 2007-2008