The Wire

Midwives around the country were celebrated on the weekend for their work as part of the national day of the midwife. But often going un-noted is the part played by indigenous midwives, and the importance for aboriginal and Torres Strait women to have access to culturally appropriate midwives.

Organisations like the Australian Council for Midwives celebrate the importance of the indigenous mothers having access to indigenous midwives.But new figures indicate that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers are three to five times more likely to die in child birth than the rest of the population.So do we need to focus on training more Indigenous midwives?