Giving birth for Danielle was 'fabulous'. Is this new model the future?

The Daylesford mum took part in a new birthing model at Castlemaine that puts a midwife in charge of low-risk pregnancies. It could be the saviour of smaller regional maternity services struggling to recruit staff.

"I found it quite fabulous," Ms Nault said.

"I was really comfortable and they addressed all my needs and trusted me. They didn't insist on anything happening that I didn't want to happen."

Ms Nault's baby was born at Dhelkaya Health (previously known as Castlemaine Health) in 2022 under the new midwifery continuity of carer model.

Known as the Midwifery Group Practice (MGP) model, it allows a woman to be cared for by the same midwife throughout their entire pregnancy, labour and birth, and postnatal journey with the GP/obstetrician largely taking a back seat.

Ms Nault said she decided to go to Castlemaine for her pregnancy needs because it was slightly closer than Ballarat and "birthing at a hospital never felt super comfortable".

"This type of care is more continuous and you build a relationship with the midwife," she said.

"They really got to know me and were advocates for what I wanted."

"You could give birth in your own time and space and there was no rush."

The new model has proven to be such a success in the past 12 months at Castlemaine that independent researchers believe it should become a blueprint for similar smaller services struggling to keep their maternity wards open.

The model has replaced the maternity services in Castlemaine which closed in 2020 and for Daylesford mother Danielle Nault, it has been a revelation.

Dhelkaya Health suspended its maternity service in May 2020 following concerns midwives were not using their full scope of practice under the hospital's GP obstetric-led model at the time.

A review recommended the development of the MGP model of midwifery care and in May 2021 the ward re-opened in Castlemaine, with the first birth in early June.

Clinical midwife specialist Maegen Kendall said in the 12 months the service was closed, women had to travel to Bendigo or even to Melbourne to access maternity services.

She said if the birth became complicated and the mother had to be transferred to a bigger hospital like Bendigo, her midwife would go along with her.

"And Bendigo likes that because those midwives are extra to their numbers," Ms Kendall said.

Researchers from La Trobe's Judith Lumley Centre evaluated the first 12 months of the MGP operation at Dhelkaya Health and labelled the MGP model as "gold standard".

Dhelkaya Health spokesperson Janine McCarthy said there had been "fantastic feedback from women who birthed with us".

"The study results are testament to that," Ms McCarthy said.

"It's quite a small community service with a very long history and it was really important to community and staff - some of whom gave birth here and may have been born here themselves - that it was something the community didn't want to lose."

"What the evaluation has shown is that this maternity model is something the other health services which have closed their maternity ward can re-open (using this model)."

La Trobe university senior lecturer Dr Laura Whitburn, who was one of the researchers evaluating the MGP model at Castlemaine, said the response of women who used the service was "overwhelmingly positive".

"We know this type of care can lead to reduced rates of caesarean section and have better outcomes for the baby and the mother," Dr Whitburn said.

"The success is a testament to this service and how important continuity of care is for women and their birth experiences."

The evaluation shared the experiences of 44 women, including 22 women who birthed at Dhelkaya Health, 18 women who were transferred to birth at Bendigo Health and two women who birthed before arrival, from its reopening until May 2022.

One study participant said: "I feel deeply, deeply honoured to have had the experience I had. I would give so much for every woman to have the sort of care and experience I had. I am beyond grateful Castlemaine opened up again."

Women particularly valued the continuity of care by a known midwife, the tailored care to their individual needs and circumstances, and the ability to access the service locally.

They reported low levels of anxiety during labour and birth and felt that they coped physically and emotionally better than they anticipated.

Dr Whitburn the continuity of carer model was gold standard but only 19 percent of Australia population had access to it.

This is amid a decline of more than 200 birthing suites across rural and remote locations over the past two decades.

"Our evaluation was that it was successful and should be implemented elsewhere and be made available to other services such as Maryborough and Cohuna, which developed a model based on Castlemaine," she said.

"It's fantastic and Castlemaine can be used as a blueprint."