Editorial: Why are babies dying?

In recent months, botched births resulting in baby deaths have been all too common in the headlines.

The latest case making news is that of Linda Barlow, in Hamilton, whose baby died in 2009. She ended up on life support after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest.

Coroner Gordon Matenga has recently made explosive criticism of the midwifery profession's philosophy and training.

Matenga said there was a tolerance within midwifery for working outside the "safe harbour" of the referral guidelines - a document designed to manage safe transfer from community to hospital care - if the mother and baby were thought to be coping. He is seeking to stamp out this tolerance and has also expressed misgivings over midwifery education.

Midwives took over from doctors delivering babies in New Zealand after the Nurses Amendment Act 1990, introduced by the then Minister of Health, Helen Clark. This allowed a registered midwife to handle a woman's care throughout pregnancy and childbirth, without a doctor's supervision. The joint-care system eventually stopped by the mid-1990s after a ballooning maternity budget and the development of the Lead Maternity Care system.

Even if we think we have the best system we still must ask, are too many babies dying? Figures from 2010 show 704 babies and foetuses died that year between 20 weeks' gestation and 27 days after birth, as a result of "perinatal-related deaths".

We don't compare well with Australia. New Zealand's perinatal-related mortality rate in 2009 was 11.3 deaths for every 1000 births, higher than the average rate of 9.8 for most of Australia.

No doubt New Zealand has hundreds of brilliant midwives. - But you only have to ask around mothers to hear stories of unhappy "customers".

It is now timely to reignite the debate over maternity care. After all, there is nothing more precious than life.