Concerning study on birthing outcomes highlights the need for reform

According to the report — covering data from more than 867,000 births between 2016 and 2019 — the rate of stillbirth and neonatal deaths in public hospital deliveries is double the rate of newborn fatalities in the private system. 

AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said the findings were concerning and highlighted the critical need for reform in both public and private hospital systems. 

“Funding for our public hospitals must be increased to ensure they can continue to provide safe, high quality maternity services,” Dr McMullen said. 

“Continuity of care must be prioritised, and renewed efforts to support collaboration in our public hospital maternity services are paramount.” 

Dr McMullen also stressed the importance of a private health system authority to examine reform options to make private health insurance, including for maternity care, more accessible for Australians. 

“The closure of many private maternity services in recent years is concerning and must be addressed to give women and families choice in their pregnancy care,” she said. 

“Patient choice is absolutely critical, and we need reforms to ensure all Australians have the utmost confidence in both the public and private systems, with access to high-quality, multidisciplinary care.” 

The AMA would like to see a robust national data collection system for maternity care models, with transparent reporting through a clinical quality registry. 

“It is crucial maternity reforms are backed by solid evidence, but we need the data to do this,” Dr McMullen said.