Call for help from midwives

Midwives ask for quick help

26/11/2014

The German Midwives Association (DHV) sees midwifery in danger. The reason for this is the general centralization of aid offers. According to the Association's President Martina Klenk at the beginning of the Federal Delegates Assembly in Fulda.

The basic care in the communities should be guaranteed with primary care, nursing services and midwife help. „These three pillars must be offered close to home and can not be centralized“, demanded the president, who represents more than 18,500 members. She specifically criticized the centralization tendencies: „The tendency to centralization has been decided. However, this means that the care of women with obstetrics is in massive danger.“ And Klenk continues: „An area-wide supply with pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium is already no longer given.“ Thus, the freedom of choice of the place of birth can no longer be guaranteed: „The legally guaranteed freedom of choice of place of birth is no longer present in many regions due to the elimination of freelance obstetrics and the centralization in a few clinics.“

More and more midwives in clinical obstetrics would not be recruited. „The working conditions of the midwives in the clinics are now so bad that many do not want to work there anymore“, said Klenk. According to a survey, overtime, part-time work, staff shortages and non-work activities would now be normal. In addition, drastic increases in liability premiums would have meant that more and more midwives would give up their profession. As many as 3,000 of the 17,000 freelance midwives who provide obstetrics would be affected.

Suggested solutions for increasing liability premiums
In this context, Federal Health Minister Hermann Gröhe had expressed his desire to stop the rising liability premiums. Klenk: „We have put forward two proposals for a sound solution to obstetric liability problems and expect them to be examined.“ These solutions include either setting up a liability fund to cover damage exceeding the limit of liability or, alternatively, integrating the professional liability of the entire health care system into the existing accident insurance (DGUV) and thus the takeover of this branch of insurance by the BG Health and Welfare. In addition, the association called for the recognition of preventive services such as smoking cessation, nutritional counseling or motor assistive measures to prevent illness and to include midwife help in the Prevention Act. (Sb)

Picture: Romelia