A lot of time has passed since our last update. Time enough for more of Martina's pregnant families to have had their babies, without the midwife of their choice available to them. The open letter sent by these pregnant women to AHPRA received a response, basically saying Martina's clients aren’t allowed to know the details of why she's suspended, or how much more time will pass before a decision is made. You can read the reply here (first two screenshots).
This situation is beyond ridiculous. Our birthing rights are restricted, and our access to the information used to restrict these rights, are likewise restricted. Martina's ability to communicate is also restricted, with the Health Complaints Commissioner prohibiting Ten Moons from posting any content on any social media platform during their investigation.
We have big plans for pushing back against the insane legislative framework we find ourselves in, and reclaiming these stolen rights. The best way to turn these plans into reality is not through this one-way email correspondence. So a Facebook group has been created, to help us talk and connect. This group will be a place for people to organize and provide support for this campaign, to share stories and ideas.
For example, one recent post raises the point that the Victorian board of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) has ONLY ONE midwife sitting on it, Ms Amanda Singleton. Amanda previously worked at the Royal Women’s Hospital, but hasn’t assisted at any births for many years, and has ZERO homebirth experience. Amanda chaired Martina's hearing last month. So to sum up: a homebirth midwife was suspended by a group of people, where only ONE was a midwife and NONE have ever even attended a homebirth.
The Facebook post calls on people to consider posting a complaint against Amanda to AHPRA, because by her decision she is putting the public at risk (by increasing the rate of freebirth), and therefore broke the Standard of Practice and Code of Ethics. You can read the full Facebook post here.
What do you think? If you agree, you can jump on AHPRA's website to lodge a complaint. Whatever you do, join the Facebook group, to be part of the conversation and part of the push back!