Birth as an expensive hobby for midwives

Birth as an expensive hobby for midwives

05/05/2011

Parents who do not want their child to be conventionally born in a clinic are increasingly choosing to have a home birth or give birth in their birthplace. But lately it is getting harder and harder to find a freelance midwife, because the exorbitantly increasing liability premiums have made many independent midwives unable to work because the already low wages are getting smaller each year Working conditions get worse and worse. If politics does not come quickly into action, birth in the birthplace will soon be available only to wealthy mothers.

International Midwife Day
Today, on the International Day of Midwives, obstetricians all over Germany take to the streets and demonstrate for the free choice of place of delivery, a legally established obstetrics for every woman and for better working conditions in the clinics. Invited to the actions are not only all obstetricians, but also parents and friends who support the concern of advanced maternal and child-friendly childbirth.

The German midwives association e.V. has put together the five most important demands, which are based on the global health development goals as the „German Big Five“ be designated. The appeal is addressed to the health politicians of the black-yellow coalition and the health insurance companies.

Politics is not acting
The criticism is aimed primarily at the Federal Minister of Health Philipp Rösler (FDP): „For months, the German Midwives Association has been waiting for the implementation of the promises made by Minister Rösler to the midwives. In addition to the call for data collection on the income and cost situation of freelance midwives, the past few months have seen nothing recognizable.“ With a result is apparently far from expected, especially if you look at the past time course. This is extremely unsatisfactory, as a spokeswoman for the protest day in Hanover opposite „Heilpraxisnet.de“ said, and that though „The midwives have no time left, because many can hardly do the job because of financial hardships“. „What has become of the Minister's commitment to take into account the rising costs of doing business, such as liability fees, on the revenue side?? “, ask the midwives who fear for their existence.

The birth as an expensive hobby for midwives
On average, a freelance midwife earns around 7.50 euros gross per hour. In many cases, the costs already exceed the revenues, as Uschi Fietz, chairman of the Lower Saxony Association of Midwives in the NDR 1 Radio Niedersachsen reminded. The main reason for the burden is the newly introduced liability insurance for obstetricians. Liability premiums were raised from € 1,000 to € 3,700 per year last year. Thus, the premium has almost quadrupled. The occupational liability is to cover personal injury up to six million euros. The premiums for a birth, in contrast, only raised by eight euros gross. Midwives, who only care for mothers during check-ups and after-care, only pay an annual fee of 340 Euros. "In the past, a midwife had to accompany three and a half births, then she had compensated her annual insurance sum. Today, almost 17 births are needed to pay for the liability." For this reason, obstetricians and parents are taking to the streets in Hanover today. The motto of the protest is "The birth as an expensive hobby for midwives“. The protest train starts at 3:00 pm at Lister Platz and then leads to the city center on Kröpckeplatz.

Midwives demand better working conditions
In addition to the low remuneration, the midwife association complains about the excessive workload of midwives in the clinics. According to the association, there are around 120 births per midwife per year. Midwives often have to care for three women giving birth in one day at a time. Again, must be acted quickly. But the health insurances and clinics seem to rely on a delaying tactics and want to negotiate better remuneration and changes in working conditions only in the next year. Although exactly 186,356 people in the summer of 2010 voted in favor of receiving a local midwifery aid in an online petition, nothing has changed in the situation of obstetricians since then. Incidentally, the petition submitted so far was the most successful in terms of signatures ever submitted in Germany. (Sb)

Read about obstetrics and midwifery protests:
The profession of midwives is threatened
Midwives strike for four days
Cesarean birth rate reached record mark
Midwives strike for four days
Warning of midwife shortage

Picture: Hartmut910