October 10, 2024 • 14 mins
You might have heard a lot of misinformation around the $22mill Waminda Birthing on Country centre being built in Nowra. So what exactly is it, and how hard has our indigenous community lobbied to have it built?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I Heart shoal Haven.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Hello, I'm Pete Andrea. And in this episode we find
out more on the building of a birthing center in
Nara dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and
their families. They were men of berthing on Country. Facility
will be Australia's first, the first Aboriginal owned center, and
it'll be managed by midwives trained in providing culturally safe
(00:25):
and sensitive maternity care. There'll also be anti natal and
post natal support for new mums too. Hillcrest Avenue where
Narraw is the site and a development application is now
before shoal Haven City Council. The New South Wales government
has committed more than forty five million dollars and the
Albanese government twenty two and a half million for the bills.
(00:46):
When it opens in late twenty twenty six, were Menda
expects to welcome one hundred and thirty babies in its
first year for the indigenous community here in the shoal Haven.
The center, which has been nine years in the planning,
to say it will allow women to deliver in a
space where they can feel the sacredness and powerfulness of
birthing on Country. What does that mean exactly. I sat
(01:09):
down with women from Womenda, Cleon, Wellington and mel Briggs
to find out why conventional options available to the wider community,
like a hospital birth or a home birth fall short
for many Indigenous women.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
It's all about reclamation of birthing and when we look
at our women and their families, our Aboriginal women and
their families going into the system, which is you know,
the local hospital, it can be really difficult and there's
still racism within the hospital. And for us as an organization,
we're very big on, you know, working alongside our community,
(01:45):
working alongside services and the local health district to actually
turn that around. But for us, when we talk about birthing,
birthing is in a sickness. It's not an illness. It's
not something that you have to go into the hospital.
Berthing is about celebration at ceremony. When I talk about
the birth center, I'm talking from a women's perspective, in
our community's perspective. That's what it's about. It's about reclaiming
(02:07):
that and having our women feel safe making the decisions
on how they want their birth to be and who
they want in the room and how they want it
to be and and being the lead in that and
not having other people tell them what they need to do,
and having beautiful, healthy, fat, chubby babies.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
We all like beautiful, fat, chubby, healthy babies. So how
does this center provide that?
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Well, this center will be actually run and owned by Womenda.
So we're an archo Aboriginal community health organization and so
it's going to be the first of its kind ever
within Australia. There are other birth centers but not owned
by an Aboriginal organization and having a midway three led
model or care. So in other you know, other birth
(02:54):
centers and other places, you know, you actually don't have
the right to actually run the organ to run the
birth center. And what happens is, you know what we've
had to do is actually go through and change legislation
just so we can have the right to employ midwives,
have them ensured to provide that intrapartum care. So what
that means is us as an organization being from community,
(03:17):
we are culturally safe because we are community. And when
we talk about culture and average ways of being, knowing
and doing, that's embedded within our organization. That's through every
part of our service and everyone within our organization has
to be culturally safe and for us, that's what the
whole idea of the birth center was about. It was
(03:37):
about you know, being able to have our own rights
and actually our women have ownership of this space and
so when community come in, it's their space. It isn't
you know, the system space, it isn't the government space,
it is a new South Wales health space, it's our communities.
So really reclaiming that ownership. And when we talk about
(03:58):
culturally safe as ways of being knowing and doing so,
practicing our law, I re law, practicing our protocols, you know,
being able to do smoking, being able to do cleansing
and you know not have to worry about you know,
w HS or that someone's you know offended by the
smoke and the smell or it's going to cause us
(04:18):
SMA or something like that. Something so ridiculous, you know,
for when we want to do our own practices and
protocols when our babies have been birthed.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yeah, so that was unavailable to indigenous mums and barbs
under the current system.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
So you know, for example, you can't go into the
hospital now and do smoking ceremony with inside the building and.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
That's culturally important that it cleanses the youngster and mum
and welcomes them to country.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
It does, it does. Yeah, so you're actually birthing onto
country and bringing that child to life, and it's birth
first breath. You know, that's that's the sacred part of it.
And that's what we actually can't perform within the hospitals.
And also part of that is something like the percenter
and how important the placenter is and when we need
to do our ceremony, you know, not every time that
(05:11):
we actually give birth at the hospital. Our women offer
to take that home and that can be a challenge
and sometimes they're refused.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
And so what do you do with the placenta?
Speaker 3 (05:21):
I don't want to actually talk too much about that
because that's that's sacred women's business and there's certain things
that we actually do with the placenta and it's really
important for us to do that, and you know, to
teach our next generational women of what that is. And
you know, when I think about you know, when we're
at the hospital, we can't even pass on that knowledge
(05:42):
to our young ones because we're getting stopped. But for us,
you know, that's all a part of that ceremony. So
after birthing, during birthing, you know, but yeah, we won't
share too much about it.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
But in the natural environment that Indigenous women gave birth to, say,
one hundred years ago, this is much closer to that environment, isn't.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Yeah, well, you know, and I'll put it out there.
There has been some comments made about how we're just
creating another colonial building, you know, and it's not. It's
not culture that what we're actually going to be delivering
in the berths are, but it is because it's our space.
It's not owned by you know, the system, it's owned
by us, and so we can say what goes in
that building, and it's going to be safe, and it's
(06:26):
going to be a beautiful space, and it's going to
be family coming together and women being able to say
what they want. And you know, when when I think
about birth spaces, birth spaces wasn't in your home. It
wasn't where you actually lived with your family. You know,
pre colonization, you had berthing spaces that were sacred, you know,
(06:46):
in different areas. It could be up the river, it
could be birthing pools. There's all different areas, you know,
under you know, really sacred specific trees, and so for us,
the birth center represents that sacred space and we create
that sacred space. Us quarry women from this community, create
that and bring that and make that what that space
(07:07):
needs to be.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
The new Women to Birthing On Country in Nara will
serve as families not only across the South Coast, but
also those beyond who will travel for ancestral reasons. Okay,
next we clear up a few of the more bizarre
rooms you might have heard going around about the center.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
I Heart shoal Haven. I Heart shoal Haven.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Pete Andrea back with you now as we take a
look at the new Women to Birthing on Country facility,
set to open its doors in twenty twenty six. It'll
be built on Hillcrest Avenue in Nara. For forty years,
a First Nation's mum to be in the shoal Haven
could only engage a women the midwife or care up
to and after their baby is born. The midwives couldn't
(07:53):
practice within hospitals or conventional birthing centers due to the
strict clinical compliance standards New South Wales Health. But about
six months ago chel Haven Hospital gave women to midwives,
visiting rights to birth Indigenous babies, so the new center
will succeed that arrangement. Much of Birthing on Country is
connected to secred women's business, so there's been some misconception
(08:17):
around the center and some bizarre rumors out there, such
as births will be happening outside under trees. Here is
Women's Mell Briggs.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
Birth You on Country isn't just about what cleone was saying.
It's not just about the birth. It's about the preparation
for birth. It's about becoming a mother, It's about becoming
a family. It's about the supports you receive in that time.
It's stopping the institution from removing our children. It's keeping
families together. It's also about being healthy and well and
(08:48):
receiving continuity in midway free care which creates really good
outcomes as well and reducing preterm birth, which is what
we're talking about when we're talking about Birth Yon Country
and having those fat, chunky, healthy babies, because we know
that when we have a healthy pregnancy that your longevity
of life is extended. You know, because we're not looking
at just closing the gap, we're smashing the gap just
(09:10):
within this this program at Waminda. The misconception is absolutely
birthing under a tree. But you know, eventually generations will
be able to do that because we will be healthy
and well. So for now, it's about birthing where we
are needing to birth, which is with a known midwife
at our local hospital, and then transitioning into the birth center,
(09:32):
which you know, our next generation of children and you know,
women having babies then will be able to have their
babies within the birth center.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Historically, since the arrival of European settlement, obviously like we've bought,
we bought disease and we bought you know, that really
did impact the Indigenous population. At the same time, Indigenous
babies their survival rate was know, like not as good
(10:01):
as what Europeans are. Is that currently the situation here
in our Will we improve that immediate post natal period
for bub.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
Yeah, absolutely, we already are improving it. We've only been
i mean, women has been in the community for forty
years and since providing just inter natal and post natal
services fifteen years ago, that improved it just by providing
those services and now that we're providing each apartent care
at chol Haven Hospital it's improving it even more. So
(10:33):
you know, the model itself is absolutely going to smash
the gap of life expectancy between our people and non
Kouri people.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
That's wonderful stuff, sure is. And even though you'll have
your own birth in unit at Warrgy, if the situation
arises where you need intense medical intervention, the phone call.
Speaker 4 (10:58):
Yeah, So that's the partnership that we have with our
local health district. So we've been working in partnership with
jol Haven for the last eight years and it's around
you know, building that trust and making sure that you know,
we can transfer our women to shop Haven Hospital if
we need to. Because Midwiffree scope of practice, obviously we
can provide that care within the in the birth center
and then if we do need to transition out, we
(11:20):
can do that with the same midwife so that you're
not having to transfer care over to an unknown midwife.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
Now, we had the Minister for Health Ryan Park down
here recently, very big supporter of the Birthing on Country unit.
Speaker 5 (11:37):
As someone who spends a lot of time criss crossing regional,
rural and remote New South Wales, everyone is excited about
what this initiative will bring in terms of caring for women,
their babies, and their families. We often talk about closing
the gap. This is about smashing the gap.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
You were smashing the gap. That was his words. How
hard it has it been to get federal and state
government on board to help fund this project.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
It's taken us nine years, nine years, and when I
think back of the nine years, it was constant, constant meetings,
constant having to validate that we are you know, as
an organization, we're safe and that you know, we're transparent,
and we got caught out a lot on you know,
(12:25):
you're actually not capable to run on a birth center,
you know, being told that you're going to have dead
babies on your hands, like literally these people from government
and those health high health positions, you know, and even locally.
And so when I think about people like you know,
Minister Ryan Parks, who comes in and he listens to
us and truly listens and he gets it. But it's
(12:47):
taken the nine years, and the nine years has been
over a thousand documentations have been written to actually showcase
and give evidence to say that we actually can do this.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
You know, I wish people would see the excitement that
you both have about this because this really is exciting stuff. Now,
what will be the most exciting bit for you? Do
you think is that when you slap that little that
little baby's bum for the first time and you hear
that that crawd.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
Slap our babies bums, we bite their cheeks. Is their chunky, fat,
lovely baby. But I can see the very first berth
and I feel like that that's going to be the
moment for me when that first baby takes its first
breath in the country. That's that's yeah. I'm excited for that.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Cleon Wellington finishing up there on what has been a
long winding road to get to this point in development
of Australia's first birthing on country facility. I'm Pete Andrea.
That's all from us now. I'll catch you next time.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
I heartshall Haven
I Heart shoal Haven.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Hello, I'm Pete Andrea. And in this episode we find
out more on the building of a birthing center in
Nara dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and
their families. They were men of berthing on Country. Facility
will be Australia's first, the first Aboriginal owned center, and
it'll be managed by midwives trained in providing culturally safe
(00:25):
and sensitive maternity care. There'll also be anti natal and
post natal support for new mums too. Hillcrest Avenue where
Narraw is the site and a development application is now
before shoal Haven City Council. The New South Wales government
has committed more than forty five million dollars and the
Albanese government twenty two and a half million for the bills.
(00:46):
When it opens in late twenty twenty six, were Menda
expects to welcome one hundred and thirty babies in its
first year for the indigenous community here in the shoal Haven.
The center, which has been nine years in the planning,
to say it will allow women to deliver in a
space where they can feel the sacredness and powerfulness of
birthing on Country. What does that mean exactly. I sat
(01:09):
down with women from Womenda, Cleon, Wellington and mel Briggs
to find out why conventional options available to the wider community,
like a hospital birth or a home birth fall short
for many Indigenous women.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
It's all about reclamation of birthing and when we look
at our women and their families, our Aboriginal women and
their families going into the system, which is you know,
the local hospital, it can be really difficult and there's
still racism within the hospital. And for us as an organization,
we're very big on, you know, working alongside our community,
(01:45):
working alongside services and the local health district to actually
turn that around. But for us, when we talk about birthing,
birthing is in a sickness. It's not an illness. It's
not something that you have to go into the hospital.
Berthing is about celebration at ceremony. When I talk about
the birth center, I'm talking from a women's perspective, in
our community's perspective. That's what it's about. It's about reclaiming
(02:07):
that and having our women feel safe making the decisions
on how they want their birth to be and who
they want in the room and how they want it
to be and and being the lead in that and
not having other people tell them what they need to do,
and having beautiful, healthy, fat, chubby babies.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
We all like beautiful, fat, chubby, healthy babies. So how
does this center provide that?
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Well, this center will be actually run and owned by Womenda.
So we're an archo Aboriginal community health organization and so
it's going to be the first of its kind ever
within Australia. There are other birth centers but not owned
by an Aboriginal organization and having a midway three led
model or care. So in other you know, other birth
(02:54):
centers and other places, you know, you actually don't have
the right to actually run the organ to run the
birth center. And what happens is, you know what we've
had to do is actually go through and change legislation
just so we can have the right to employ midwives,
have them ensured to provide that intrapartum care. So what
that means is us as an organization being from community,
(03:17):
we are culturally safe because we are community. And when
we talk about culture and average ways of being, knowing
and doing, that's embedded within our organization. That's through every
part of our service and everyone within our organization has
to be culturally safe and for us, that's what the
whole idea of the birth center was about. It was
(03:37):
about you know, being able to have our own rights
and actually our women have ownership of this space and
so when community come in, it's their space. It isn't
you know, the system space, it isn't the government space,
it is a new South Wales health space, it's our communities.
So really reclaiming that ownership. And when we talk about
(03:58):
culturally safe as ways of being knowing and doing so,
practicing our law, I re law, practicing our protocols, you know,
being able to do smoking, being able to do cleansing
and you know not have to worry about you know,
w HS or that someone's you know offended by the
smoke and the smell or it's going to cause us
(04:18):
SMA or something like that. Something so ridiculous, you know,
for when we want to do our own practices and
protocols when our babies have been birthed.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Yeah, so that was unavailable to indigenous mums and barbs
under the current system.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
So you know, for example, you can't go into the
hospital now and do smoking ceremony with inside the building and.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
That's culturally important that it cleanses the youngster and mum
and welcomes them to country.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
It does, it does. Yeah, so you're actually birthing onto
country and bringing that child to life, and it's birth
first breath. You know, that's that's the sacred part of it.
And that's what we actually can't perform within the hospitals.
And also part of that is something like the percenter
and how important the placenter is and when we need
to do our ceremony, you know, not every time that
(05:11):
we actually give birth at the hospital. Our women offer
to take that home and that can be a challenge
and sometimes they're refused.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
And so what do you do with the placenta?
Speaker 3 (05:21):
I don't want to actually talk too much about that
because that's that's sacred women's business and there's certain things
that we actually do with the placenta and it's really
important for us to do that, and you know, to
teach our next generational women of what that is. And
you know, when I think about you know, when we're
at the hospital, we can't even pass on that knowledge
(05:42):
to our young ones because we're getting stopped. But for us,
you know, that's all a part of that ceremony. So
after birthing, during birthing, you know, but yeah, we won't
share too much about it.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
But in the natural environment that Indigenous women gave birth to, say,
one hundred years ago, this is much closer to that environment, isn't.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
Yeah, well, you know, and I'll put it out there.
There has been some comments made about how we're just
creating another colonial building, you know, and it's not. It's
not culture that what we're actually going to be delivering
in the berths are, but it is because it's our space.
It's not owned by you know, the system, it's owned
by us, and so we can say what goes in
that building, and it's going to be safe, and it's
(06:26):
going to be a beautiful space, and it's going to
be family coming together and women being able to say
what they want. And you know, when when I think
about birth spaces, birth spaces wasn't in your home. It
wasn't where you actually lived with your family. You know,
pre colonization, you had berthing spaces that were sacred, you know,
(06:46):
in different areas. It could be up the river, it
could be birthing pools. There's all different areas, you know,
under you know, really sacred specific trees, and so for us,
the birth center represents that sacred space and we create
that sacred space. Us quarry women from this community, create
that and bring that and make that what that space
(07:07):
needs to be.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
The new Women to Birthing On Country in Nara will
serve as families not only across the South Coast, but
also those beyond who will travel for ancestral reasons. Okay,
next we clear up a few of the more bizarre
rooms you might have heard going around about the center.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
I Heart shoal Haven. I Heart shoal Haven.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Pete Andrea back with you now as we take a
look at the new Women to Birthing on Country facility,
set to open its doors in twenty twenty six. It'll
be built on Hillcrest Avenue in Nara. For forty years,
a First Nation's mum to be in the shoal Haven
could only engage a women the midwife or care up
to and after their baby is born. The midwives couldn't
(07:53):
practice within hospitals or conventional birthing centers due to the
strict clinical compliance standards New South Wales Health. But about
six months ago chel Haven Hospital gave women to midwives,
visiting rights to birth Indigenous babies, so the new center
will succeed that arrangement. Much of Birthing on Country is
connected to secred women's business, so there's been some misconception
(08:17):
around the center and some bizarre rumors out there, such
as births will be happening outside under trees. Here is
Women's Mell Briggs.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
Birth You on Country isn't just about what cleone was saying.
It's not just about the birth. It's about the preparation
for birth. It's about becoming a mother, It's about becoming
a family. It's about the supports you receive in that time.
It's stopping the institution from removing our children. It's keeping
families together. It's also about being healthy and well and
(08:48):
receiving continuity in midway free care which creates really good
outcomes as well and reducing preterm birth, which is what
we're talking about when we're talking about Birth Yon Country
and having those fat, chunky, healthy babies, because we know
that when we have a healthy pregnancy that your longevity
of life is extended. You know, because we're not looking
at just closing the gap, we're smashing the gap just
(09:10):
within this this program at Waminda. The misconception is absolutely
birthing under a tree. But you know, eventually generations will
be able to do that because we will be healthy
and well. So for now, it's about birthing where we
are needing to birth, which is with a known midwife
at our local hospital, and then transitioning into the birth center,
(09:32):
which you know, our next generation of children and you know,
women having babies then will be able to have their
babies within the birth center.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Historically, since the arrival of European settlement, obviously like we've bought,
we bought disease and we bought you know, that really
did impact the Indigenous population. At the same time, Indigenous
babies their survival rate was know, like not as good
(10:01):
as what Europeans are. Is that currently the situation here
in our Will we improve that immediate post natal period
for bub.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
Yeah, absolutely, we already are improving it. We've only been
i mean, women has been in the community for forty
years and since providing just inter natal and post natal
services fifteen years ago, that improved it just by providing
those services and now that we're providing each apartent care
at chol Haven Hospital it's improving it even more. So
(10:33):
you know, the model itself is absolutely going to smash
the gap of life expectancy between our people and non
Kouri people.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
That's wonderful stuff, sure is. And even though you'll have
your own birth in unit at Warrgy, if the situation
arises where you need intense medical intervention, the phone call.
Speaker 4 (10:58):
Yeah, So that's the partnership that we have with our
local health district. So we've been working in partnership with
jol Haven for the last eight years and it's around
you know, building that trust and making sure that you know,
we can transfer our women to shop Haven Hospital if
we need to. Because Midwiffree scope of practice, obviously we
can provide that care within the in the birth center
and then if we do need to transition out, we
(11:20):
can do that with the same midwife so that you're
not having to transfer care over to an unknown midwife.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
Now, we had the Minister for Health Ryan Park down
here recently, very big supporter of the Birthing on Country unit.
Speaker 5 (11:37):
As someone who spends a lot of time criss crossing regional,
rural and remote New South Wales, everyone is excited about
what this initiative will bring in terms of caring for women,
their babies, and their families. We often talk about closing
the gap. This is about smashing the gap.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
You were smashing the gap. That was his words. How
hard it has it been to get federal and state
government on board to help fund this project.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
It's taken us nine years, nine years, and when I
think back of the nine years, it was constant, constant meetings,
constant having to validate that we are you know, as
an organization, we're safe and that you know, we're transparent,
and we got caught out a lot on you know,
(12:25):
you're actually not capable to run on a birth center,
you know, being told that you're going to have dead
babies on your hands, like literally these people from government
and those health high health positions, you know, and even locally.
And so when I think about people like you know,
Minister Ryan Parks, who comes in and he listens to
us and truly listens and he gets it. But it's
(12:47):
taken the nine years, and the nine years has been
over a thousand documentations have been written to actually showcase
and give evidence to say that we actually can do this.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
You know, I wish people would see the excitement that
you both have about this because this really is exciting stuff. Now,
what will be the most exciting bit for you? Do
you think is that when you slap that little that
little baby's bum for the first time and you hear
that that crawd.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
Slap our babies bums, we bite their cheeks. Is their chunky, fat,
lovely baby. But I can see the very first berth
and I feel like that that's going to be the
moment for me when that first baby takes its first
breath in the country. That's that's yeah. I'm excited for that.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Cleon Wellington finishing up there on what has been a
long winding road to get to this point in development
of Australia's first birthing on country facility. I'm Pete Andrea.
That's all from us now. I'll catch you next time.
Speaker 1 (13:56):
I heartshall Haven
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.