Midwives are calling on ACC to reconsider a contentious adjustment regarding cover for painful perineal tears during childbirth.
It should be much easier for women to get equitable care for medical services during and after pregnancy, the College of Midwives says. Stock photo Photo: 123RF
Perineal tears are the most common type of birth injury, but ACC cover for them has fallen since the agency realised its former policy was more generous than legally required.
An obstetrician, Michelle Wise, told Morning Report yesterday that the change is too restrictive, and now the College of Midwives says ACC must review its approach.
RNZ has also outlined the case of Susan, whose injuries suffered during childbirth were described by a surgeon as the worst he had ever seen. He performed seven operations on her to try and repair the damage which tore through her vaginal wall, all her perineal and pelvic muscles and into her rectum.
After the birth, ACC accepted her claim and paid for the treatment and care she needed outside the public health system. But in July last year, ACC told her it was revoking her claim, leaving her "gob-smacked".
College of Midwives chief executive Alison Eddy said ACC was told from the outset that it was taking too rigid an approach to how it applied the law and it would reduce the cover women could get access to.
Last year ACC had invited the college to have representatives on a group to talk about possible changes, she told Morning Report.
"We actually raised this issue to our board who also echoed those concerns and agreed and we were unable to endorse the final document that ACC produced."
"They're new mothers at a very important time in their life" - College of Midwives chief executive Alison Eddy
She said the core of the issue was that women were suffering from a debilitating condition, and many of them could be suffering in silence.
"They're new mothers at a very important time in their life and we should be making it very, very easy for them to get care in an equitable way.
"Applying a law, the ACC law, across access to health services just creates these inequities and barriers."
There was insufficient access to specialist services after women suffered injuries in childbirth, she said.
While awareness was being raised about systemic racism and bias in the health system, she said she suspected there was an "underlying systemic gender inequity" as well.
"Overall I think what we'd really advocate for is for ACC to reconsider its position and also for the health service in general to look at better resourcing for the treatment services that are needed for these women."