Women petition MPs for maternity sector review

Women who lost children during childbirth or were left with severely disabled babies will petition Parliament today for a review of the maternity sector.

The petition calls for an independent review of midwife training and supervision and for the establishment of a database to record all outcomes for babies, The Press reported.

The group called The Good Fight wants the database to include information on deaths, near misses and disabilities.

Founding member Shannon Beynon's two-day-old daughter Emma died in Christchurch Women's Hospital in 1996 after complications from a prolonged labour.

A coroner ruled that Emma would have lived had she and her mother been transferred to hospital earlier.

Midwives had a professional responsibility to refer to others when they reached the limit of their expertise, the coroner said.

Ms Beynon said the safety of babies needed to be improved.

Health Minister Tony Ryall said matters raised by the group were already being worked on.

The Government's draft maternity action plan was out for public consultation until the end of July, Mr Ryall said.

- NZPA