Waikato DHB media release - advice for pregnant women in the Coromandel

Pregnant Coromandel women urged to contact Thames birthing unit if they don’t have a midwife.

A shortage of Lead Maternity Carers (LMCs) in the Coromandel area has led Waikato DHB to urge pregnant women in the area to contact the Birthing Unit at Thames Hospital if they can’t find a midwife.

The number of self employed midwives in the Coromandel has dropped from 11 to 4 in the last three years and has left many pregnant women struggling to find a local midwife for their antenatal and postnatal care.

Jo Clarke, Waikato DHB Clinical Midwife Director, said: “The shortage of LMCs is a problem nationwide, but particularly in remote rural areas. We have a number of hot spots in the Waikato like South Waikato and the Coromandel where there are not enough LMCs for the population.

“We are very concerned about the situation in the Coromandel. We know already of five women in Thames who have made contact with our birthing unit as they are unable to find a local midwife.”

She said it was important that women who couldn’t find an LMC to get in touch with the Thames Birthing Unit who could provide support for the women with antenatal care like important scans, blood tests and blood pressure checks.

“It’s important that women contact Thames within the first 12 weeks of their pregnancy for these vital antenatal checks, it will also allow us to pick up any issues or risk factors early that might need referral to Waikato Hospital,” said Ms Clarke.

LMCs are self employed and provide primary maternity care, while the DHB provides back up primary care at Thames and its three rural hospitals and secondary and tertiary care at its Waikato Hospital.

Waikato Hospital was fully staffed for its own midwives, but was recently given resources for 15 more which the DHB is currently recruiting for.

Last April there were 163 LMCs registered for an access agreement to birth at Waikato Hospital, and while this year’s number won’t be known until April, a survey to all these LMCs last year found that 44 were considering leaving the profession in the coming year.

Community midwives, employed by the DHB, of which there are four based in Hamilton, are looking after some women who can’t find a midwife.

The DHB is writing to local GPs in the Coromandel to let them know about the shortage and advising them to refer women to the birthing unit. Women can ring the Thames Birthing Unit on: 07 868 6009.