Paper Petition

The petition of residents of the State of Queensland draws to the attention of the House the current state of maternity services in Queensland which deny women choice and provide over-serviced, costly, fragmented care which is not supported by quality research.

Your petitioners therefore request the House to improve maternity care services to include: Informed choice – providing women with evidence-based information, and supporting their choices. One to one midwifery care – choice of a known midwife caring for each woman during pregnancy, birth and early motherhood, in collaboration with other health professionals. Community based services – providing care in the communities where women live. Consumer representation – central role for consumers in policy development and service design, implementation and delivery. Education – improved community education to support informed choices in pregnancy, birth and early parenting. Accountability – full and timely disclosure of outcome statistics from all health facilities.