1. family and parenting
2. motherhood
3. pregnancy

Vision, Mission and Values
CMWA’s VISION
Safe, respectful, empowered birth choices for all women
CMWA’s MISSION
To ensure all women and the community are well-informed,
well-prepared and well-supported for pregnancy, birth and
parenthood.
VALUES & PRINCIPLES
Respect, Integrity, Community,
Empowerment, Safety, Sustainability
1
CMWA CHEAT SHEET
Who is Community Midwifery WA?
Community Midwifery WA (CMWA) is a not-for-profit organization which derives the majority of its funding from the
WA government. It aims to help parents make informed choices about pregnancy, birth and beyond.
What does CMWA do?
CMWA offers a range of pregnancy work-shops, up-to-date, evidence based information and resources and
midwifery advice to pregnant women and their partners. CMWA also offers post-natal support for the early days of
parenting. CMWA’s childbirth education and post-natal services are free to all CMP clients, but are offered to
anyone in the community, generally for a fee.
What do we advocate for?
Choices in childbirth
Our vision is for safe, respectful, empowered birth choices for all women. We believe that it is a fundamental right of
every woman to choose where and how she gives birth – be it in a birthing centre, in public or private hospital, at
home.
Continuity of care
We believe that continuity of care can facilitate a positive relationship based on trust between a women and her carer
resulting in a more empowered and satisfying birthing experience. Where a woman requires a number of health
professionals to be involved in her care, this care should be provided in a collaborative and consultative manner with
a lead maternity carer available to coordinate that care. At all times the woman and her baby should be at the centre
of the care and provided with up-to-date evidence to enable her to make informed choices about that care.
What is CMWA’s role in delivering WA Health’s Community Midwifery Program (CMP)?
The CMP is a WA Health service which CMWA partners to deliver. WA Health is responsible for the clinical
governance and human resources management of the CMP. CMWA provides administrative support, antenatal
education and post natal support services at no charge to clients on the CMP. We also provide community
awareness services to ensure women are informed of all their choices in childbirth.
What services does CMWA offer?
CMWA’s childbirth education classes begin with the Choices in Childbirth session, a two hour interactive information
session. Early Pregnancy classes are for women and partners in the first 16 weeks of pregnancy. Preparation for
Childbirth classes are offered for the second trimester, run over 6 weeks and developed on the National Childbirth
Trust model. They include a 2 hour session on breastfeeding. A shorter session for second time parents, and one
on one sessions with FIFO parents is also offered. Finally as part of the Preparation for Childbirth series we offer a
Dad 2 Dad session facilitated by a male Midwife and father of four. At around five weeks before birth we offer a four
hour Active Birth Workshop to prepare the woman and her partner to labour actively. VBAC and Positive Caesarean
classes are offered, as well as birth pool and other equipment hire services offered on a cost-recovery model.
Post-natally we offer lactation consultations for $40 for women in the community, or free for women on the CMP. We
also offer Mother Nurture groups, co-facilitated by a peer and a therapist, a model developed by CMWA and
delivered in Gosnells, Fremantle and Mandurah, with a sister group Making Sense of Motherhood running at
Joondalup Women’s Healthworks.
Supporters
CMWA is a not for profit organisation eligible to seek funding from a range of sources to diversify and increase our
services to women in WA, consistent with our vision and mission.
North Metropolitan Area Health Service have just re-funded CMWA for 3 years from 1 July 2012-30 June 2015 to
deliver antenatal education, administration and post natal support services for the CMP.
We have also been funded for three years to deliver a childbirth education service for Refugee and Migrant
women in the southern suburbs of Perth.
CMWA has been re-funded for 2013 to deliver antenatal education to parents and High School students, and
antenatal education train the trainer for service providers in the West Pilbara.
Lotterywest has supported CMWA in 2012 to undertake a Strategic Planning
Process which will create a Five Year Plan from 2013-2018
They have also supported us to update our library stock, hire equipment
stock and childbirth education resources
City of Mandurah has funded CMWA to deliver Mother Nurture Groups in Mandurah from 2012-2014
We also received funding from Friends of Heatchote to pay for equipment to establish the group.
3
Partners
CMWA is a passionate believer in well-thought out and clearly documented partnerships as a smart and effective
way to deliver services to the community. We are always keen to develop partnerships with government, nongovernment and business.
From the Heart WA
Our partnership with From the Heart WA has been vital in the development and delivery of Mother Nurture Groups.
We share their passion and belief in the importance of the lived experience in assisting others to wellness, and to
feeling confident and happy raising their babies.
WA Health’s Community and Child Health Services (CACH)
CMWA has been able to deliver a Mother Nurture group in Mandurah thanks to the support of CACH who provide
Lindy Henry to co-facilitate the group.
WA Perinatal Health Unit
CMWA has received considerable support from WAPMHU to access funding to develop the Mother Nurture groups
we offer, as well as to deliver awareness events for perinatal mental health.
Universities
There are now three universities in Perth offering Midwifery qualifications. CMWA is very keen to ensure women in
the community are aware that they can access midwifery students seeking continuity of care experience hours in
order to graduate and we have updated our website to include a page to facilitate women getting in touch to find a
student. This support has been invaluable for our Refugee and Migrant service, as well as for the many women
pregnant in Perth who have little or no family support, and/or a partner working Fly in Fly Out (FIFO).
Australian Doulas
We have been delighted to support Australian Doulas’ successful funding application for rebranding, and value their
doula training program which continues to provide volunteers for the Refugee and Migrant Program.
Women’s Health Services
CMWA enjoys productive partnerships with Women’s Health Services, particularly Ishar Multicultural Women’s
Health Service, Midland Women’s Healthcare Place, Joondalup Women’s Healthworks, Women’s and Families
Health Services Northbridge, Fremantle Women’s Health Care Place and South Eastern Metropolitan Women’s
Health and Wellbeing Services (formerly Gosnells Women’s Health). Partnership relationships include the benefits
of networking to better define and deliver services, use of premises to deliver antenatal education in different areas
of Perth, support letters for grant applications, and a venue for our Mother Nurture Group in Gosnells. We are very
grateful to all the staff of women’s health services across Perth who have been so supportive and helpful.
Members
As an incorporated organisation, CMWA has a membership base which is essential to our organisation’s well-being.
Many join as members to pursue their goal of self-education through our lending library, while others join to volunteer
or provide other support. It goes without saying that CMWA is extremely grateful for the support of our Members.
Last year we were fortunate to attract new and renewing membership subscriptions to the tune of $3,475.00, and
while this helps fund our library service, the knowledge that so many women support what we do is invaluable.
Volunteers
CMWA continues to be spoiled for choice with volunteers. There are team of volunteer Midwifery Students and
Doulas who support our Refugee and Migrant Project, working with the women to provide the support they need.
This year, the CMWA Manager was supported by Lotterywest, WACOSS and MODAL to undertake a Diploma of
Management, and chose as her project CMWA’s Volunteer Program. We were lucky enough to engage regular
support from Imke Konow, who updated our volunteer policies and procedures and got started on our Archive
project. The purpose of the archive project was to separate out clinical and non-clinical archival material and ensure
all clinical archives are stored with the Clinical Midwifery Manager of the Community Midwifery Program.
Administrative archival material was then sorted and those items no longer required were shredded. A register of
archival material was established, documenting all of this work, and creating a schedule for ongoing shredding of
administrative archives on a 7 yearly cycle.
Imke returned to Europe after the first phase was finished, and Kristy Woodleigh offered us a whole week of full time
work and completed the Archive project for us.
We have long enjoyed the support of Sandra Grey who visits us weekly and keeps the CMP Application Packs
organised, and she is currently enjoying a lovely long holiday with her husband. Jeanette Booth appeared on the
scene after Sandra’s departure on holiday, and descends on us every Tuesday and powers through a mountain of
administrative work. Clarissa Machin continues to support as in the library and undertaking any tasks we ask of her.
Last December we had a simple Volunteer Celebration which was rained off so was held not at King’s Park, but at
our premises instead. This December we have put in for Department for Communities funding to get together the
many birth-related organisations such as Birthrites and Australian Doulas which give so much of their time to support
women. We are hoping to hold a celebration at South Beach with all of us together.
5
Outgoing Chair’s Report
DEBBIE SLATER
Change is the only certainty, and never more so that in the maternity care sector at present. This has been a very
eventful year on a number of fronts, and I have attempted to summarise these complex developments below.
Federal Reforms
As Chair of CMWA I was able to report regularly on the progress of federal maternity reforms due to my involvement
in a number of state and federal committees looking at these issues. Many of you will be aware that the federal
reforms to provide Medicare provider numbers and prescribing privileges for privately practising midwives have been
under review over the last year. In August of 2012 at the meeting of the Standing Council on Health (that is, all the
State Health Ministers), it was agreed that the exemption for Privately Practising Midwives be extended to 2015.
Collaborative arrangements were also reviewed to allow midwives to have a collaborative agreement with a health
service rather than an individual medical practitioner.
Continuity of Care Models
While these are two positive initiatives, the reality is the continuity of care with a known midwife remains the option
for a minority of women. CMWA remains very passionate and committed to ensuring this model of care is available
to women not just through the Community Midwifery Program, but in all public maternity care hospitals. To this end
we ensure we are represented on the Models of Care Working Group at Women’s and Newborns Health Network,
and utilise our ability to meet with the Minister for Health to actively promote this agenda.
Statewide Homebirth Policy and the Review of Homebirths in WA
The Statewide Homebirth Policy was quietly released in the last financial year, with minimal negative media
backlash. This policy, while we acknowledge concerns about tightening inclusion criteria for women, at least paves
the way for this model of care to be part of the mix of maternity services in WA. In 2008 the Review of Homebirths
Report was released, and this prompted significant effort from the CMP Midwives to work on addressing the
recommendations. Therefore, when the Review of Homebirths in Western Australia – Progress Report was finally
released some time after it was finished, it was clear that most of the recommendations relating to the CMP had
been addressed. There were recommendations for other health services too – for example, increasing the number
of continuity of care models available to women especially those not experiencing a low risk pregnancy, and
therefore not eligible to birth on the CMP – but this is definitely still a work in progress.
CMWA in 2011-2012
To bring it all back to the local context, this has been a very interesting and challenging year for CMWA in that three
major sources of funding all came to an end on 30 June 2012. I noted in last year’s Annual Report that WA had
signed up to a new arrangement for funding not for profits – the Delivering Community Services in Partnership policy.
As the Manager’s Report highlights, this has been a positive initiative for CMWA in that we have been able to secure
more sustainable funding to deliver support services to the CMP. We have also been able to continue to grow our
services such as the Refugee and Migrant Project, which instead of having Lotterywest special project funding, has
now secured three years’ funding to continue to develop. As a provider of childbirth education and post natal support
services, CMWA looks set to be able to continue to grow, to support women’s choices in childbirth. I invite you to
review the full reports of our main services and take the opportunity to thank all the CMWA staff who ensure that
these services are delivered to such a high standard, with professional and heart felt enthusiasm. I commend the
Manager Pip Brennan’s efforts in ensuring all services have been re-funded.
Farewell….
After a very happy and productive ten years in Perth, I have decided to re-locate to the UK for the next few years
while my sons undertake university studies in the UK. It has been wonderful to be involved with the CMWA team,
and I want to thank each and every Board and Staff member who have made this journey so positive. I know I am
leaving CMWA in very capable hands with our new Chair and our Manager already working together very
productively to bring about the next exciting chapter in CMWA’s history.
Incoming Chair’s Report
JUSTINE HYAMS
In July of 2012 Debbie Slater announced that she would be returning to the UK. This certainly left all of us on the
Board, as well as CMWA staff, feeling in shock! Debbie has been such an amazing advocate for women’s choices in
childbirth, with influential state and federal roles. She was also a highly valued childbirth educator, having delivered
the 6 week Preparation for Childbirth classes for CMWA since 2007. To say she will be sorely missed doesn’t quite
do it justice.
I joined the CMWA Board in November of 2011 as a very happy customer of the CMP. I had heard about the CMP
while still living in Tom Price, heavily pregnant with baby number 2 after a long break. Baby no 1, by now in High
School, had encountered the educational talents of CMWA’s Ruth McIntosh and Melanie Gregory at a school talk in
Tom Price, funded through the Communities for Children project administered in the West Pilbara. Son number one
came home full of questions and interest in the impending birth of his brother. Still unsure of the best birthing options
for me in Perth, I met with Ruth and Mel before they left Tom Price, and found myself booked on the CMP in Perth
where I enjoyed the most amazing birth experience ever.
Co-Location with the Cockburn GP Superclinic in 2013
At my first Board meeting, the issue of rising rent in the North Fremantle premises was raised, and the opportunity
for CMWA to become a tenant at the soon to be built Cockburn GP Superclinic was first suggested. I have been
happy to lend my professional expertise in construction to continue to steer this project to the stage of getting an
ideal new premises for CMWA – it is a very exciting opportunity and will greatly enhance our abilities to reach
pregnant women, and to work with GP and allied services to develop services that better suit women’s needs.
Reducing our rent and increasing parking and passing trade will also be wonderful benefits of the move. The current
best estimate is for a September 2013 move.
Strategic Planning – Five Year Plan 2013-2018
It was also identified that CMWA was in need of an opportunity to reflect on our current stage of development, and
think about where we would like to go from here. This process is underway as we speak with a new Strategic Plan
due for release by January 2013. As noted in the Manager’s report, re-branding is a priority for CMWA to ensure
that we can continue to grow as a not for profit organisation delivering education and support services to pregnant
women no matter where they are having their baby.
I have been very honoured to join CMWA’s Board and take on the role of Chair and look forward to overseeing a
very exciting and important stage of CMWA’s development as an organisation.
7
Manager’s Report
PIP BRENNAN
It has been a very demanding and exciting year, with three separate funding agreements due to come to a close. I
am delighted to say that since the end of the financial year we have been able to secure ongoing funding for all three
contracts, so that has been a huge achievement for us.
All not for profit organisations now fall under the Delivering Community Services in Partnership Policy, which means
that when negotiating service agreements with WA government agencies we stipulate how much it costs to deliver a
service, rather than being awarded potentially unsustainable amounts of funding. The new policy supports the
development and growth of the not for profit sector to ensure we can go on delivering reflexive, support, women and
family based services to the community. The new policy also calls for outcomes based agreements, where actual
outcomes from the services are articulated and negotiated with the WA government funding partner. While
challenging, this approach is a welcome focus on delivering excellent services.
I continue to have unwavering support from the CMWA staff and Board and am very grateful for their talents and
commitment. It has been a huge adjustment to see the departure of our much loved Chair Debbie Slater, and many
of us in WA and Australia are reeling from the shock! We have been very lucky to obtain the interim Chair services
of Justine Hyams who found out about us through the West Pilbara Childbirth Education project. Justine brings a
fresh and different perspective, as a recent CMP client and a professional business woman to help us to continue to
grow as an organisation.
Service Agreement with WA Health
We have now completed the 2.5 year Activity Based funding agreement with WA Health to provide support services
to the CMP. We have successfully negotiated a new Outcomes Based agreement to carry out the same services,
with some additions and growth of capacity. What this specifically means is that we provide four services;
1. Community Awareness activities to ensure women know about all their choices in childbirth and
the CMP
2. CMP Administration for the day to day administration of the CMP
3. Antenatal education for the CMP
4. Post natal support services namely lactation consultations and Mother Nurture groups.
Our services are free to women on the CMP but are open to all women in the community, usually for a fee.
It is important to note that while CMWA provides support services to the CMP, the CMP is a WA Health service and
the clinical governance and human resources management reside with WA Health. The CMP sits under North
Metropolitan Area Health Service’s Public Health and Ambulatory Care division.
Lotterywest Grant
CMWA was again funded by Lotterywest, this time to conduct a 5 Year Strategic Plan, as well as to replenish our
library and childbirth education resources, and boost the range and number of items we hire to support women’s
choices in childbirth and early parenting.
CMWA and the Community Midwifery Program
One of the key issues we would like to address in our 5 Year Strategic Plan is the confusion in most people’s minds
between CMWA and CMP. It is, as they say, complicated.
As the table below illustrates, there has been a fundamental change in the management of the CMP since 2006.
However, because of the similarity of names and branding, and the inter-connectedness and support of each entity,
there is significant confusion in the community as to who does what. In very simple terms, CMWA is a not for profit
organisation which provides administration, antenatal education and post natal support services for the CMP.
CMWA is like all not for profit organisations, free to seek funding opportunities to deliver services that support our
mission. The CMP is a WA Health service delivering a maternity service to low risk women living in Perth wishing to
have a known midwife to birth at home or in a public hospital.
1996-2001
2006-2009
2009-2012 and onwards
CMWA:
-Insurance of CMP
-Clinical Governance of CMP
-HR Management of CMP Midwives
-Administration of CMP
-Antenatal Education
CMWA:
-Administration of CMP
-Antenatal Education
CMWA:
-Administration of CMP
-Antenatal Education
-Post Natal Support Services
-Special Projects – Refugee Migrant,
West Pilbara etc – sky is the limit!
HEALTH:
Provided funding directly to CMWA to
deliver the CMP
HEALTH:
-Insurance of CMP
-Clinical Governance of CMP
-HR Management of CMP Midwives
HEALTH:
-Insurance of CMP
-Clinical Governance of CMP
-HR Management of CMP Midwives
Re-branding, moving – what next??
As noted in our Incoming Chair’s Report, we will be looking at re-branding, and re-naming to make it more obvious to
the community what we are about and what we do. We are taking the opportunity of our impending move from North
Fremantle to the Cockburn GP Super Clinic to undertake the process concurrently, so that when we are in our new
premises we will have our new branding, new name and new ideas and partnerships to develop and deliver our
services.
Consumer Representation
CMWA now has a presence on a range of committees, including Women’s and Newborns Health Network, and its
Executive Advisory Group, the Network’s Continuity of Care Working Group, the Safe Sleeping Group, the Refugee
and Migrant Maternal Health Advisory Group, as well as the State Perinatal Mental Health Group and a range of
Early Years groups across areas of Perth. We also delivered the inaugural Maternity Consumer Representation
Training as a small pilot in partnership with the Health Consumers’ Council and will be developing a page on our
website to highlight support and opportunities to be a Consumer Representative. We are very passionate about
empowering women to have an effective say and strongly believe the best way forward to achieve the many reforms
and an increase in midwifery led maternity care services is through the voice of women.
9
CMWA Services Report
Community Awareness
CMP Marketing
In 2010 CMWA received extra funding to undertake
marketing of the CMP, and over the 2011-12 financial
year it has been really wonderful to be able to carry out
some of the more expensive ideas such as putting leaflets
into Bounty Bags, running a toilet door advertisement
campaign and targeting local newspapers with flyers. We
have been attending shopping centres regularly with an
information stall and a birthing pool, which can certainly
make for interesting Saturday morning discussions. All in
all we have visited 9 shopping centres, had stalls at 11
different Expo events, including a Women’s Health Day for
GPs. We have spoken to more than a thousand women
and given out countless leaflets and balloons. There has
been a discernible increase in numbers on the CMP; from
258 to 301, and it is wonderful to know that we will be able to continue to offer a marketing program under the new
WA Health contract to keep the message out in the community.
We are still perfecting our approach to General Practitioners, as we recognise that this can be a difficult area to
tackle, due to the workload of GPs and the number of people wanting to reach them with information, some of whom
have significant budgets! We are currently perfecting a system of approaching GP surgeries to obtain appointments
for follow up presentations on the CMP so that GPs feel confident in referring women to the program.
CMWA’s Website
Our website continues to be a crucial part of community awareness, with the internet and word of mouth continuing
to be the main sources women finding out about CMWA and the option of birthing on the CMP. Our website
statistics show a clear upward trend in hits, reflecting our impression of increasing business!
Website Hits
CMWA's
website
Jan-Jun
2010
Jul-Dec
2010
Jan-Jun
2011
Jul-Dec
2011
Jan-Jun
2012
7416
8501
10820
11971
14997
CMWA’s Community Awareness/ Front of House Presence
CMWA’s North Fremantle office saw a steady increase of women and families attending for classes and
consultations, to browse the library and to drop off or pick up birthing pools and other hire equipment.
We record all the different requests for information we get from women and families, and the community. As is clear,
a large percentage of the enquiries we receive relate to the CMP, alongside Choices information, it is more than half
our workload. Our workshops are next in frequency, with our library continuing to be popular.
CMP Administration
Jackie Skilton and Jane Stanley continue to offer a wonderfully efficient and warm front of house for the CMP. They
are located in the Joondalup office and have been joined by Jesika Mullins to keep on top of the demanding level of
paperwork, which has only grown in the wake of the Statewide Homebirth Policy and the increased interest
generated by the CMP Marketing project. The CMP Admin Team continue to keep on top of all the changes
necessitated through policy and procedure reviews conducted by WA Health. Their dedication and commitment is to
be highly commended.
Jesika Mullins
Jane Stanley
Jackie Skilton
CMP Statistics – where are they?
As this Annual Report highlights in various places, CMWA is striving to provide some clarity about its relationship
with the CMP. It was therefore decided not to include statistics for the CMP in this Annual Report, as they are WA
Health data and need to be released as part of the North Metropolitan Area Health Service’s Annual Report. Please
do feel free to contact the CMP Manager to find out more.
11
Childbirth Education RUTH MCINTOSH
Our pregnancy classes have continued to grow and develop. Our range of classes is designed to be
taken over the course of pregnancy, or even pre-pregnancy. We have spent some time this year in
documenting the CMWA childbirth education programs, articulating our interactive and innovative style
of antenatal education designed to engage and empower parents to be.
2nd Trimester
Early/ PrePregnancy
Choices in Childbirth
Early Pregnancy Class
Preparation for
Childbirth - 6 week
series, or Old Hands for
second and subsequent
children.
3rd Trimster
Active Birth
Workshop
Dad2Dad
Breastfeeding
Our Childbirth Education Team has currently expanded with the partnership with ECU, whose Midwifery lecturers are
now conducting the Active Birth Workshops in Joondalup.
Some statistics:
We ran:
• 43 Active Birth Workshops at North Fremantle, Joondalup, Curtin and Midland
• 63 Choices in Childbirth sessions at North Fremantle, Joondalup, in our Schools and out in the
community
• 33 Preparation for Childbirth sessions, including the 6 week series (including the Breastfeeding
workshop), Dad2Dad workshops, our new Old Hands sessions for second and subsequent babies
and Especially for You one on one sessions for families who struggle to get to the classes for the 6
week series
Participants
Choices in Childbirth Info
Active Birth Workshops
Preparation for Childbirth
Midwifery/ lactation advice hours
Attendance at centres
Total
08-09
54
238
450
352
828
1922
09-10
626
234
510
571
1423
3364
10-11
1588
316
939
615
1430
4888
11-12
2370
400
725
542
2424
6461
Feedback from classes
“I am a midwife and a mother of 2 and I
learnt new things today which is great. I
also found the information thorough and
consistent which is great.” (Active Birth
Workshop Comment)
“Enjoyed everything, has really got me
thinking about my options and I'll research
more now.” (Active Birth Workshop
comment)
“I walked away knowing more from this
session than I ever did through my entire
first pregnancy” (Choices Workshop
comment)
“Good "meat & potatoes" info to help
women make informed choices around
birth” (Choices Workshop comment)
“I cannot emphasise enough how much
the classes helped me to look at childbirth
in a very positive manner.”
(Prep 4 Childbirth Workshop comment)
“All information was delivered non-biased
and factual.”
(Prep 4 Childbirth Workshop comment)
“Such good advice and support”
(Prep 4 Childbirth Workshop comment)
13
Post Natal Support Services
Mother Nurture Groups
2011-2012 has been an important year for the Mother
Nurture program. Significant effort has gone into
documenting the model effectively, with a view to
growing it further to assist more mothers in the early
months of parenting.
Through our partnership with From the Heart WA,
CMWA was able to present at the Marce Conference
in 2011, highlighting our Mother Nurture group
programme at the Conference Breakfast. Mother
Nurture received significant interest, including from
Lindy Henry from Peel, and through the generosity of
City of Mandurah we were able to successfully
replicate the group model to Mandurah with Lindy cofacilitating with From the Heart’s Cathryn de Franco.
Mother Nurture developers and co-ordinators:
Therapist Facilitator Sue Coleson and Peer Faciltiator
Adele James
We are currently running three groups – at North Fremantle, Armadale (which is re-locating to Gosnells from Term 4)
and at Armadale. We continue our partnership with Women’s Healthworks in Joondalup to continue to liaise
regarding their similar program, Making Sense of Motherhood.
Mother Nurture groups run for a 10 week term, and are for mothers of pre-crawling babies. The focus of the group is
on facilitating the mother to build confidence in herself as a mother, learning to relish her new and demanding role.
All in all there were 13 groups run in the last financial year. Evaluation of the group consists of taking Edinburgh
Post Natal Depression (EPDS) scales before and after the group, and in 2012 after consultation with the WA
Perinatal Mental Health Unit the Being a Mother (BAM) scale. Women are also asked about their fears and anxieties
before and after the group, and their confidence in parenting. The feedback is very positive, with 97% of attendees
noting that that felt more positive and less anxious about parenting after attending the class. 79% of respondents
showed a decrease in EPDS scores in one case reducing from 23 to 14. 16% remained the same with 5% showing
a slight increase.
In 2012-2013 we will continue to develop and monitor the program’s results and undertake external evaluation of the
model. CMWA is represented on the Perinatal Infant Mental Health Model of Care working group and we will
continue to ensure our service is relevant, effective and part of the picture of improving perinatal mental health.
Our new funding contract from 2012-15 has allowed for an increase in the number of groups run and has allowed us
to appoint Sue Coleson and Adele James onto CMWA’s staff to assist in growing this valuable and effective service.
COMMENTS FROM EVALUATION FORMS:
“Mother Nurture is a safe place to talk about the real difficulties in becoming a parent”
“Gave me allocated time to spend on me and baby – fantastic”
“I learned not to be so hard on myself and listen to myself more”
CMP Support Services - Post Natal Support Services
Lactation Consultations
In the last financial year, just under 300 women and families benefitted from CMWA’s Lactation Support service.
The strategy to support breastfeeding is several fold: breastfeeding classes in pregnancy run as part of the
Preparation for Childbirth six week series, or as a stand-alone two hour class during the day, and lactation support
consultations either over the phone or in person with Ruth McIntosh. We have also started hiring out breast pumps
for women who require them to maintain supply and continue to breastfeed.
In August 2011 CMWA organised for special cakes for World Breastfeeding Week and some newspaper coverage to
raise awareness of the importance of breastfeeding.
15
Pregnancy Support For Refugee And Migrant Women
The generous Special Projects funding offered by Lotterywest over 3 years to deliver a Pregnancy Support Project
for Refugee and Migrant Women concluded on 30 June 2012. We were delighted to be provided with three years’
funding from the Minister for Health, which we aim to supplement with fundraising initiatives in the next year.
In April of 2012 we said a sad farewell to Lisa Chalmers, and to Dionne Waddell who worked so hard on the project;
Lisa in particular established the project from scratch. Lisa and Dionne have been replaced by midwives Felicity
Kostera and Siana Crichett, joined by Naomi Winter who is providing administrative support. There was a noticeable
increase in referrals from April which has continued, keeping Felicity and Siana very busy. We are currently working
on a partnership with South Eastern Metropolitan Women’s Health and Wellbeing Services (formerly Gosnells
Women’s Health) to deliver the program from their premises, enhancing the opportunities for women to engage with
local services such as the Save the Children Playgroup held in the same building weekly.
Statistics from 2011-2013
New referrals
Women seen
Appointments
Interpreters Used
Home visits
Hospital visits
Doulas placed
Midwifery Continuity of Care Experience Students linked with women
Clients birthed
CMP referrals
CMP births
Presentations
Liaison Meetings
Professional Development
Number
45
99
214
55
184
51
25
5
23
2
1
4
58
3
We have partnered with Ishar, Womens and Families Health Services Northbridge and Women’s and Newborns
Network to engage service providers in the area of refugee maternal health to discuss collectively how best to deliver
services. A very successful forum was held in August and a Working Group on maternity care for Refugee and
Migrant women has now been convened by Women’s and Newborn’s Health network to ensure there is better coordination in the sector to agree and define models of service going forward. While we are continuing to deliver a
service in the southern suburbs of Perth we are very keen to ensure that we are part of the systemic overview and
planning of services to ensure we continue to deliver relevant, effective services.
Communities For Children West Pilbara RUTH McINTOSH
and MELANIE GREGORY
As reported last year, CMWA was given the exciting opportunity to branch out in our service delivery by providing
childbirth education in the West Pilbara. Putting the WA back into CMWA, if you will! We obtained the services of
Curtin University to undertake external evaluation, which was very beneficial both in terms of developing the program
and reporting on its effectiveness.
CMWA’s visits to the West Pilbara in 2011- 2012 took place over two consecutive weeks in May. The first swing was
to Tom Price and Paraburdoo ; the second swing was to Karratha and Roebourne. The following sessions were
delivered:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Train the Trainer Active Birth Workshop Nintirri (training relevant service providers embedded within
communities in facilitating Active Birth Workshops) (May 9);
Active Birth Workshop for Families Nintirri (May 10);
Pregnancy and Childbirth Education Tom Price Senior High School (May 10-11);
Train the Trainer Breastfeeding Nintirri (May 11)
Breastfeeding for Families Nintirri (May 11)
Yarning Session Mawarnkarra Health Service (May 16)
Pregnancy and Childbirth Education Girls’ Group Onslow (May 16)
Train the Trainer Active Birth Workshop Nickol Bay/Karratha (May 17)
Our contract to deliver childbirth education in the West Pilbara came to a close on 30 June 2012 and we are
delighted to say that we have been provided with further funding to continue to deliver both antenatal education and
school talks, with the next sessions planned for Term 4 2012.
“Many of the comments made by
participants in May 2012, whether they
were local service providers or families,
related to the benefits of the experiential
learning in a group context about the
process of pregnancy and the support and
options available, rather than traditional
didactic learning approaches.”
Curtin University External Evaluation
Report
17
CMWA’s Team
STRATEGY & GOVERNANCE
Board of Management
Justine Hyams - Chairperson
Tracey Scotchbrook
Carole Pinch
Natalie Greig
Sara Davis
Judith Wilson
Claire Ross
Manager
Pip Brennan
WAHealth Liaison, Grants, HR,
Governance, Finance, Project
Management
Childbirth Education
Ruth McIntosh -
Post natal Support
Services
CMP Administration
Community
Awareness
Special Projects
Co-ordinator
Danielle Freeth
Melanie Gregory
Lactation Support Ruth McIntosh
Jane Stanley
Jackie Skilton
Jesika Mullins
Amanda
McKinley
Naomi Newman
Debbie Slater
Mother Nurture
Groups -
Sue Clark - Reception,
Hire, Library
Refugee and Migrant
Project -
Nancy Peters Bookkeeping
Felicity Kostera
Elissa Strumpher Website, Evaluation
and Statistics
Naomi Winter
Siana Crichett
Sue Coleson
Adele James
Jane Stanley
Marylou Clark
West Pilbara
Childbirth Education
Project
Mark Walters
Linda Wilson
Ruth McIntosh,
Melanie Gregory
CMWA’s Merchandising and Fundraising Program
In 2011-2012 we have focused on our growing merchandising program of items for hire and sale. The birthing pool
hire service is particularly popular. Given the CMP Marketing project, plus our focus on getting core contracts refunded, we have not had the extra capacity to run a fundraising event. This is something we would like to address in
the 2012-13 financial year, with a particular focus on funding for the Refugee and Migrant program.
Sue Clark is to be congratulated for developing CMWA’s merchandising
services which support our library service which is an integral part of
ensuring women are aware of their choices in childbirth. She continues
to oversee and manage the complexities of this service, while maintaining
a smiling presence on our reception desk! Sue has been vital in helping
CMWA develop independent sources of funding to supplement our grant
funding.
CMWA’s Financial Governance
CMWA continues to strive to improve our financial reporting and governance to ensure that we are able to report on
current projects accurately, and cost grant applications to pursue new project opportunities. A Finance Committee
has now been formed with our new Accountant, our Manager, our Bookkeeper Nancy Peters, Sue Clark, and our
Treasurer and Chair. We have
Our Auditor for 2011-2012 was Francis A Jones and a summary of the financials appears below, the full financials
are available for those who are interested.
REVENUE
OPERATING EXPENDITURE
Employee salaries, benefits etc
Depreciation
Other administrative costs
NET DEFICIT/ SURPLUS
2012
$ 821,264
2011
$712,026
$463,279
$ 18,776
$327,791
$ 11,418
$381,823
$ 18,851
$306,781
$ 4,571
Our bookkeeper Nancy hard at work!
19