Waiouru copes with new maternity service

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 584, 2 May 1995, Page 14

Waiouru copes with new maternity service

By

Michele

Monaghan

A permanent team of three midwives is now successfully operating out of Taihape hospital with the addition of Annie Dyer in January. The team provides pregnancy care for Waiouru women as well as Taihape. Margaret McKinnon will continue with the bulk of the Waiouru work, said Ms Dyer. She said the three midwives operate on a roster system that works along the same lines as independent midwives (providing back-up for each other). Only the doctor is the primary care-giver in this case. Waioum lost its resident community midwife in March last year due to restructuring. Many Waiouru people voiced doubts about the new system of maternity services being provided by Taihape, especially in the winter months. One winter has passed and people seem to have got used to the idea of change, said Ms Dyer. "It certainly does appear to me that people who are using the system are very happy with it," said Ms Dyer. "Since I've been here I've had a lot of positive feed back about it," she said. Ms Dyer spent the last two years at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland, and said small communities have definite advantages over big cities. "One of the joys of being in a small community is you see the same care-

givers all the time. Here we try and meet all the women somewhere along the line, so they've at leastmetus. So many women have said seeing a familiar face in labour helps." She said in big centres women may never have met the midwife looking after them. "The thing I like most about the job is having time to spend with women. The most important part of midwifery is being in partnership with women and being with women," said Ms Dyer. Her time at Middlemore gave her some insight into travel times involved with getting to hospital in Auckland. She said that some people in Auckland are just as far away from base hospitals as in T aihape or Waiouru. City dwellers also have rush hour and motorway traffic to contend with. "I don't have a problem with being distant from a base hospital," she said. Ms Dyer said she is very aware of first time mothers in particular and their doubts and anxieties. "It's really important to know that the support is there. None of us mind being called out to help. We're only a phone call away," she said. Ms Dyer has three grown children and a six year old daughter. She was amember of the Wanganui Homebirth Association for a number of years and said she is enjoying living and working in the T aihape area.