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The head of the College of Midwives said they're not convinced that spending over 100 million to lengthen post-natal stays in hospital is going to provide a return on investment.
The government announced it's adopting National MP Catherine Wedd's member's bill, which will ensure new mothers can have a minimum of three-days in hospital after giving birth, instead of the current two.
Alison Eddy told Morning Report they're concerned the current system doesn't have the capacity to meet the demands of the changes - citing the Select Committee report which estimates that a 175 additional beds are needed.
Eddy said the changes would require $140 million of investment.
The Select Committee report said the 175 beds needed to managed the increased demand for inpatient care could cost between $31.9 million and $38.3 million, while the capital cost to add capacity to the network would be over $100 million.
Eddy said they're not convinced that this will provide a return on investment.
"There are plenty of other really worthwhile things that could potentially make more of a difference in the post-natal period, you know better support for breastfeeding in the community, better support for maternal mental health for example, are things we would consider could lead to better outcomes rather than an extra night in hospital," she said.
Eddy said the college would like to see some really good analysis on the return on investment in the government's proposal.
She said while they're delighted that there's attention given to strengthening the maternity system, a three-day stay for everybody - even in cases where it's not needed - isn't something they would be promoting.
However, they're aware of cases where some woman are pressured to leave the hospital early after giving birth, and the college doesn't agree with that, said Eddy.
Eddy said the care should be centred on individual need rather than a standard entitlement.
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