Get the appCourts have repeatedly declined to override a competent pregnant woman's refusal. This year, the Victorian Supreme Court found that Bendigo Health committed battery and negligence after staff refused to admit Larissa Gawthrop in labour unless she agreed to a vaginal examination she had declined. Providers must obtain informed consent through ongoing, honest discussions covering the treatment, its risks and alternatives.
Queensland Corrective Services officers allegedly restrained an Indigenous woman in the maternity unit at Townsville Hospital after she gave birth by caesarean section on October 10 while in custody. Her newborn was taken to the neonatal intensive care unit and the two were separated. Corrective Services says the woman was not restrained during labour or surgery, and that restraints on pregnant prisoners are only used as a last resort. The department is reviewing her care. Nurses and midwives raised concerns, and a petition seeks a ban on restraints during pregnancy and childbirth.
An advocacy group says an incarcerated Indigenous woman was shackled to a hospital bed in Queensland while in labour last weekend. Debbie Kilroy of Sisters Inside said the woman was shackled on and off after a caesarean birth, and hospital staff had asked for the restraints to be removed. A Queensland corrective services spokesperson confirmed a woman was shackled during labour and said an internal review would follow. Senator Lidia Thorpe has introduced bills to ban shackling and strip-searching of children, but Labor and the Coalition blocked the shackling bill this week.
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Get the appLabor and the Coalition have blocked a Senate vote on a bill that would ban shackling incarcerated women during childbirth. The government said criminal justice matters sit mainly with the states and territories. Independent senator Lidia Thorpe, who introduced the bill, said she would reintroduce it. Queensland Liberal senator Paul Scarr said he was deeply concerned and urged a national cabinet meeting on the issue.
A South Australian mother has reunited with the nurse who helped deliver her son in a hospital car park. Tess Salter gave birth to Ronnie outside Flinders Medical Centre after the couple's trip along the Southern Expressway took an unexpected turn. Paediatric nurse Alice Metcalfe was arriving for work when she heard the labour and ran to help. Within minutes, Ronnie had arrived, and Metcalfe announced his sex. The experience has inspired Metcalfe to begin training as a midwife.