Mackay Base Hospital - Queensland Centre for Mothers & Babies

Indicator 20: Do women make informed decisions about epidural duringlabour? 13Gold standard care is defined as women feeling that they made an informed decision about having an epidural (that is, the prosand cons were discussed and they decided from all their available options).Of those who had a labour, we asked women who had an epidural: “Did your maternity care provider(s) discuss with you thepros and cons (benefits and risks) of having and not having an epidural (an injection in your back for pain relief) during yourlabour?” and “Who decided if you would or would not have an epidural during your labour?”The graph displays the proportion of women who had a labour and made an informed decision to have an epidural.STATEWIDE PUBLIC65Mackay Base Hospital (n=13)69Mackay Birth Centre (n=0)Insufficient dataProserpine Hospital (n=5)Insufficient dataSTATEWIDE PRIVATE73Mater Misericordiae Hospital Mackay (n=19)630 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100Best public hospital in Queensland:Toowoomba Hospital 77%Best public birth centre in Queensland:Insufficient dataBest private hospital in Queensland:Mater Mothers’ Private Redland 100%What do women say about their care?“I cannot speak highly enough about the care I received ina midwife base care model where trust was developedbetween me and my care providers. I was fully informedabout my options at all times and all of my decisions wererespected. There is a lot to be said about this model ofcare and it should be more readily available.”“I had decided in my birth plan I wanted an epidural. I wasgiven one however when the midwives changed shifts thenew midwife told me I was no longer allowed to use it.”13Insufficient data for Atherton Hospital, Biloela Hospital, Dalby Hospital, Emerald Hospital, Gladstone Hospital, Gold Coast Birth Centre,Goondiwindi Hospital, Gympie Hospital, Hervey Bay Hospital, Innisfail Hospital, John Flynn Private Hospital, Kingaroy Health Service, LongreachHospital, Mackay Birth Centre, Mareeba Hospital, Mater Misericordiae Hospital Rockhampton, Mater Misericordiae Hospital Gladstone, Mt IsaHospital, Proserpine Hospital, Stanthorpe Hospital, St Andrew’s Ipswich Private Hospital, Townsville Birth Centre and Warwick Hospital.37