'Flawed' scheme sees Kimberley girls forced to give birth alone, thousands of kilometres from home

When she was a teenager, Vicki O'Donnell was sent thousands of kilometres away from her hometown in remote West Australia to give birth – alone.Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women as young as 15 are being forced to travel thousands of kilometres and spend weeks away from their families to give birth

For three months she was unable to see her newborn and received updates about her condition through letter and through telegram."That was 40 years ago. When you think about it, not a lot has changed." A State Government-funded model, PATS provides a subsidy towards the cost of travel and accommodation for regional patients, and an approved escort.

For many midwives, they say the experience of women coming into town or Perth to give birth stands completely at odds with how Indigenous women in community often choose to give birth. "The accommodation rate is very low, when you're traveling from Broome to Perth or Balgo to Broome, you can't get accommodation for $100 a night."

"That's 60,000 years of knowledge that we've just [uprooted]– relocating these women away from their elders and communities." "Invite those with knowledge to come to the table to work with health providers to get a better model.Balancing considerations

Source: Healthcare Press (healthcarepress.net)

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