Liam McNally
Melton mothers are worried about health issues going undetected until later stages of their child’s development amid the municipality’s shortage of maternal and child health (MCH) nurses.
While council tries to hire about 10 equivalent full-time MCH nurses, it’s currently prioritising support from birth to eight weeks old and vulnerable families, which comprises less than half of the 10 key age visits recommended on the council website.
Ashleigh Brown is a Diggers Rest mum who had her four-month visit cancelled last year, and was told she would no longer be able to see an MCH nurse.
It wasn’t until she took her 12-month-old to day care that an early childhood educator identified developmental health issues.
Ms Brown said her child is now undergoing “painful” physiotherapy she was told by her physio the situation would have been “significantly different” with regular MCH visits.
“It made us question whether we want to have more children if we don’t have that support,” she said.
“Knowing we’re on our own changes our whole family plan.”
Fraser Rise mother, Meryl Lefort, said she received “amazing” support in Melton when her first child was born six years ago, however, after her second child was born last year she had two early MCH visits cancelled last-minute, and was told her eight-week appointment would likely be her last one.
Ms Lefort said “you need reassurance” that your baby is developing correctly, or you “feel like you’re in the unknown”.
Ms Lefort said she would also refrain from calling for MCH advice about milder concerns because she didn’t want to put extra pressure on a stressed out system, and would opt for out-of-pocket GP visits when she was really worried.
“It feels very alone … [MCH visits are] also important to check in on the parent and I didn’t have anyone to ask me if I was OK like I did with my firstborn,” she said.
Council has indicated the shortage is due to a high local birth rate and a shortage of MCH nurses across the state.
A state government spokesperson disagrees that the shortage is affecting all of Victoria.
“While the pandemic has placed significant pressure on our healthcare workforce, there is no statewide shortage of MCH services,” the spokespersonsaid.
“We know that while there is no statewide shortage there are some challenges in Melton, which is why we’ve invested more than $10 million to help councils with shortages recruit more maternal child health nurses.”
