Aboriginal Medical Service Midwifery Program

Question: Discuss about the Aboriginal Medical Service Midwifery Program. Answer: Introduction: The safety and wellbeing of new born children and their mothers is a still neglected sector in many societies. The aboriginal population is not much different from this scenario either. There still is a vast lack of trained professionals in the neonatal care and there is little being done for improving the scenario. In the article by Raphael Wong and his co-authors, the impact of Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service Aboriginal Midwifery Access Program is discussed in detail. The purpose behind the program was to offer antenatal, neonatal and postnatal care to the residents of Australian Capital Territory. This study utilizes the medical records and data of the AMAP clients within the time frame of 2004 to 2008 and characterizes the maternal characteristic and behavioural function and risk factors of the babies. The study involved 197 babies and 187 women, out of which 50.3% were in their first trimester and 94.7% had 5 o more antenatal visits. The results of the study indicate at the lower caesarean rate, lower instance of premature birth, and lower births of low weighted babies. The findings clearly hint at the heightened standards of care delivery and safe and secure environment for the babies and mothers. Moreover the study highlighted at the increased smoking rate of 63.8% and recommended this alarming issue to be addressed immediately. Therefore, it can be concluded that this is a well organized and articulated study that a clear insight about the impact of AMAP on the health and wellbeing of the mothers and their newborns and can successfully hold true to its claims. Bibliography: Wong, R., Herceg, A., Patterson, C., Freebairn, L., Baker, A., Sharp, P., ... Tongs, J. (2011). Positive impact of a long?running urban Aboriginal medical service midwifery program. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 51(6), 518-522.