Rural maternity care is in crisis and mums from the bush aren't standing for it any longer.
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Earlier this month, ACM heard the story of a pregnant woman being bypassed from Gunnedah to Tamworth, to Armidale, and to Inverell before ultimately giving birth on the side of the road.
Stories like that are inciting mothers like Laura Houston to stand up and be heard, calling attention to the crisis and doing something about it through the Bush Babies 2025 campaign.
The campaign is calling on the NSW government to take immediate action in the next budget cycle to address the ongoing erosion of maternity services in rural, regional, and remote areas.
The Bush Babies Campaign ePetition currently has about 900 signatures and is set to close on April 24. As the petition continues, more mums like Ms Houston are coming forward to share their stories.
Her story shows firsthand how quickly rural maternity services have declined, and how that decline is putting already vulnerable women at even greater risk.
Six years of trauma
Ms Houston lives nearly half an hour outside Gunnedah with her husband and three daughters. She had her first baby in 2019, her second in 2022, and her third less than four months ago.
Due to complications from her first delivery, Ms Houston needed specialist care for her second and third, services that hospitals in Gunnedah and Tamworth didn't have the resources to provide.
"One thing I want to really stress is it's not a lack of quality in our healthcare professionals. Our doctors and midwives in Gunnedah and Tamworth are amazing," Ms Houston said.
"The problem is that they don't receive enough support so the amount of services they can provide are declining."
In 2019 Ms Houston suffered a postpartum hemorrhage, or heavy bleeding caused by childbirth, immediately after delivering her first child.
She was treated in Gunnedah hospital, which was rated second-highest in the state for maternity care around this time, according to the Bureau of Health Information.
"I was lucky enough to be able to have her in Gunnedah hospital. That was when we still had an active maternity ward in Gunnedah," she said.
However, one month after returning home, Ms Houston suffered a second major postpartum hemorrhage.
She was stabilised in Gunnedah hospital but had to be transferred to Tamworth for surgery.
"They put me into the maternity ward, but then told me it was policy that my four-week-old baby couldn't stay with me," she said.
"It's a very raw thing for a mother to have their four-week-old not allowed to be with them, especially since I was in the maternity ward and could hear everyone else's babies crying all night."
Following the surgery, Ms Houston struggled to come to terms with the trauma and separation anxiety she'd experienced.
She was later diagnosed with PTSD and it took two years of weekly psychological sessions to get her ready for the possibility of giving birth again.
"I always knew I wanted more than one, and my desire to have another baby drove me to overcome the trauma so I could do that," Ms Houston said.
"I made a plan with my psychologist that our second was going to be planned and calculated as much as possible."
The young mum painstakingly put together a plan with her obstetrician: she'd have a C-section in Gunnedah at around 38 weeks.
But when her obstetrician suffered an injury the week before the operation, there was no one to replace him, causing Ms Houston's carefully constructed world to come crashing down around her.
"Tamworth was so busy they couldn't give a definite date on when I could have my baby, and because of my mental health I needed to know, I couldn't just wait and see," she said.
As the wounds on her psyche violently re-opened, Ms Houston phoned a private obstetrician's office in Newcastle. She was unable to stop her tears from flowing as she explained her situation.
Thankfully, the young family was able to relocate to the coast on short notice so Ms Houston's baby could be delivered at Newcastle Private Hospital.
When she was ready to have her third child two years later, Ms Houston decided she couldn't put herself through the same uncertainty.
"At Gunnedah you couldn't birth, and with Tamworth being on bypass so often it was just too risky,"
"I didn't really have any other option than to uproot and move down to Newcastle again."
With help from family and friends, the Houston family spent six weeks juggling two young children while travelling more than four hours to Newcastle.
A high-risk patient due to her previous birthing complications, Ms Houston was put on bed rest during this time.
She says no family should have to go through so much stress just to have a baby.
What's the government doing?
The push for improved maternity care in Gunnedah comes amidst a major $53 million redevelopment of hospital facilities, including a new emergency department and maternity unit.
Construction of the hospital's new acute services building is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
But rural health advocates have said the new facilities will be cold comfort for patients unless there's an adequate number of staff available to use them.
As such, the state government has doubled rural health workforce incentives, introduced tertiary health study subsidies, and offered a $20,000 sign-on bonus for midwives to relocate to rural locations.
Minister for Regional Health Ryan Park says recruiting qualified staff for regional locations is "an ongoing challenge" and apologised to women affected by staff shortages.
"Local health districts continually work with pregnant women to ensure they have care plans in place should changes be required," Mr Park said.
"At times, women may require transfer to an alternate facility for specialised, higher-level maternity care as part of the usual network structure or due to workforce shortages if needed.
"I acknowledge how disruptive it can be when the planned location of a birth changes and we sincerely apologise to any women who have experienced unexpected changes."
A spokesperson for Hunter New England Local Health District added that the Gunnedah Hospital redevelopment will enhance maternity services with a contemporary birthing suite and bath, private courtyard, and inpatient unit.
"Hunter New England Local Health District remains committed to ensuring all women can access the care they need, when they need it, as close to home as possible," the spokesperson said.
"A recent international recruitment drive has resulted in several midwives currently undergoing professional assessments to join Tamworth hospital.
"Additionally, three registered nurses with extensive postnatal experience have started work in Tamworth's hospital's maternity unit."
