FEBRUARY 2018

SPAIN
Catalan Midwifery co-op promotes positive approach to giving birth
For 17 years a Catalan co-op has been
pioneering an alternative model for
giving birth. Set up in 2001, the Migjorn
Birth House works to address the
culture of fear surrounding the process
of giving birth.
Based in Sant Vincenç de Castellet,
a village in the Barcelona province, the
co-op provides assistance with giving birth
naturally at home or within its premises,
and offering support up to a year of postnatal
support. Other services include
osteopathy, reflexolog and physiotherapy.
“We wanted to set up a house for giving
birth to assist women in the process,
particularly those living far away from
hospitals,” says one of the founding
members, Montse Catalán, now a
retired gynaecologist.
She said the co-op’s work fell in line
with a global movement to respect to the
women’s need for privacy and shift the
emphasis from medication to providing
care for women and their children.
“The act of giving birth is completely
healthy and it needs to take place in
an intimate, personal environment. Of
course, where there are risks related to
giving birth, doctors in hospitals need to
take over. Otherwise, it is a completely
normal physiological process,” she added.
A team of midwives, therapists and
other professionals created the midwifery
house as a co-operative venture, investing
their personal capital. The centre has three
full worker members and is collaborating
with other professionals on a regular basis.
They chose the co-op model because they
wanted to enable more participation and
common responsibilities.
Since its creation the co-op has
assisted with 1,200 births. It also acts
as a hub for families to meet up and
discuss issues related to raising children.
While the project has been successful,
p Clients of Migjorn at the co-op’s premises
the members say they do not wish to
open more centres. They prefer to help
others develop their own midwifery
centres and have regular interns from
different countries coming to see how the
co-op works.
Migjorn is campaigning for greater
autonomy for women, to give them option
to manage their own health.
“It would be very important if
the national health system provided
assistance for giving birth at home,” said
DrCatalán. “At the moment giving birth at
home can only be done with support from
private practices.”
AUSTRALIA
Australian
grain-handling co-op
CBH unveils record
profits for last year
A record harvest in 2016 helped Australian
grain giant Co-operative Bulk Handling
record a AU $247m surplus for the year
ending 30 September 2017.
In its annual report, the co-op said 16.6
million tonnes of grain was delivered to its
storage and handling facilities, “and was a
key driver of the financial results”.
The bulk-handling co-op returned a
record rebate of $156.3m, or up to $12.75 a
tonne. Net profit after tax was $91.3m, an
increase of 83% on the previous year, and
revenue rose 6.3% to $3.5bn.
Chief executive Jimmy Wilson said the
surplus was “a good result that was driven
by a record harvest and a disciplined
approach to cost and capital management”.
He added: “Our co-operative had a strong
2016-17 financial year that culminated in
the return of a record rebate to growers.
“Our operations and marketing
and trading divisions, as well as our
investments, performed well, with each
returning a rebate to growers in the face
of an international grain environment that
continues to provide challenges.”
However, with CBH expecting to receive
and handle just more than 13 million tonnes
in the current year, 2017-18 surplus and
rebates are unlikely to match these results.
The co-op also enjoyed improved profits
from its investments. At its Interflour
subsidiary, profits will be revinested in
growth projects including a US $70m
malting facility in Vietnam and a US $30m
flour mill in the Philippines.
Mr Wilson, who took over the role of CEO
from Andrew Crane in October, told the
Australian press the co-op would continue
its current strategy, including growing its
new fertiliser business, whose figures had
improved from a $1.2m loss in 2016 to a
$200,000 loss, with sales up from 50,000
tonnes to 65,000 tonnes.
And he said CBH would continue to work
as a non-distributing co-op. Members were
asked to consider alternative options –
moving to a distributing co-operative or
a publicly listed company – in 2016 but
rejected them.
18 | FEBRUARY 2018