New Zealand’s understaffed and underfunded midwifery sector is hoping to benefit from increased health funding announced in the 2024 budget. The government has promised NZ$8.15 billion in additional operating capital for the health system, with $3.
44 billion earmarked for hospital and speciality services and $2.12 billion for primary care and public health. So far, the exact amount earmarked for midwives is unclear.
But it urgently needs to be sufficient, given the state of the profession. There are currently around 3,300 midwives registered in New Zealand. Of these, 33% work in the community under a caseload model (working independently and on-call), while 47% work in hospitals and other facilities on rostered shifts.
Approximately 95% of births have a midwife as the lead maternity carer. Despite it’s role in the health system, midwifery is currently understaffed by 40% . Making matters worse, many midwives are nearing retirement age.
There is also a high attrition rate among both recently qualified midwives and students. To cover the current staffing shortfall, the number of midwives who qualify each year needs to increase by 300% . But 42% of student midwives never complete their qualification , often because they can’t afford to.
Some reports suggest student midwives feel like they’re being used as unpaid labour to plug holes in the workforce. Our ongoing research aims to understand midwives’ physical and mental health – and how structural elements of the prof.
