After 22 hours in labour at a hospital Vicki McAllister was told by her obstetrician she would have to have a Caesarean section. Vicki, a believer in natural childbirth, had done her research and didn’t want to have a surgically delivered baby.

“I had to have an argument with a doctor during labour,” she said. “Then I ended up having an episiotomy (cutting the perineum to enlarge the vagina) and needing more than 70 stitches. It wasn’t informed consent. Had I been told the options were a Caesar or an episiotomy I might have made a different choice.

“I was totally disrespected and totally disregarded and I wasn’t given the opportunity to make an informed decision.”

Vicki chose to have her subsequent two children at home and is a member of the Northern Rivers Maternity Action Group (NRMAG), who will be protesting this Saturday, July 4, against some aspects of the federal government’s maternity reform package, announced on June 24 by Health Minister Nicola Roxon.

Although the reforms include giving midwives and nurse-practitioners access to Medicare and some prescribed medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), they will not apply to births outside a clinical setting.

The Commonwealth supported professional indemnity cover for midwives and nurse practitioners will also not apply to home births.

“From my reading of the legislation, it means a woman who asks a midwife to assist her with a home birth can be fined $35,000,” Vicki said.

Vicki said the argument that home births can mean more danger for babies and mothers was “purely political”.

“We should be shifting the focus in maternity from medical to woman and baby and how to make birth a positive experience,” she said. “If you take that approach of putting woman and baby first, how can you take away the option of home birth?”

Heidi Jones, also from the NRMAG, said many women suffered trauma during birth at hospitals.

“We don’t want women to have to go through that,” Heidi said. “Childbirth affects every woman differently, not only her body but also bonding with her child.

“Ultimately, it is our right to decide how we are going to give birth.

“From television people have this unrealistic idea that if things go wrong, it happens really quickly.

“That’s not really accurate. If things go wrong there are warning signals and plenty of time to get to a hospital if that’s what the midwife recommends.”

Vicki said she found giving birth at home a much more positive experience than in a hospital.

“After the experience with my first child I didn’t want to ever set foot in a hospital again. I had my last child at home in the pool with my partner supporting me, a midwife, my mother there and my other two children watching, along with my dog,” Vicki said. “It was a natural and beautiful experience.

“We should be moving towards normalising birth.

“Birth is a normal process. It’s not a disease, not an illness.”

A spokesperson for the Health Minister’s office said there were currently no professional indemnity cover options for midwives working independently.

“The small number of midwives who provide maternity services in an independent private capacity, including assisting in home births, currently do so without indemnity cover,” the spokesperson said. “Requiring indemnity insurance as a condition of their registration for all health professionals is a proposal put forward under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme. This proposal will be considered by all Health Ministers, who will carefully balance all factors before making a decision.

“The lack of a professional indemnity product for private midwives was highlighted in the Report of the Maternity Services Review recently conducted by the Department of Health and Ageing. The Report included a recommendation that consideration be given to Commonwealth support to ensure that professional indemnity insurance is available for appropriately qualified and skilled midwives operating in collaborative team-based models.

“The Report also recommends consideration of the expansion of access to Medicare and the PBS for appropriately qualified and experienced midwives.

“As a result of these recommendations, last week Minister Roxon introduced historic legislation to provide midwives access to the Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS) and PBS for the first time. These changes will provide all Australians with greater choice about their healthcare via improved access to the skilled services of our nurses and midwives.

“The Maternity Services Review did not support Commonwealth funding for home births at this time. The Report notes that a number of state and territory governments have developed programs and policies to allow for publicly funded home births under specific conditions.”

The Every Woman, Every Choice march will begin at 11am in the car park behind the Hog’s Breath Cafe in Byron Bay and march down Jonson St to Railway Park.