Rural farm communities sound the alarm over the perilous state of livestock deliveries
In a worrying development, the President of the German Federation of Rural Women (dlv), Petra Bentkaemper, has issued a warning about a potential collapse in the supply of midwives, particularly in rural areas. This warning comes as almost 40% of hospitals with a contract system expect their obstetrics department to close.
The crisis is largely due to the new midwifery contract, effective from November 1, which applies to around 190,000 self-employed midwives in Germany. The contract contains drastic cuts for contract midwives, resulting in significant income losses for nearly 100% of them. In fact, 93 percent of contract midwives expect significant restrictions on their work.
These restrictions have led to a wave of dissatisfaction among midwives. Almost half of contract midwives want to leave obstetrics within the next six months, and more than 80% of clinics where contract midwives work believe it is very or quite likely that their contract midwives will either resign or significantly reduce their activities due to income loss.
The new contract also worsens the terms for billing services provided by midwives. Services for further births will only be remunerated at 30%, despite equal responsibility and workload. A surcharge for one-to-one care will only be granted if the midwife is continuously present at least two hours before and two hours after the birth. In the future, contract midwives will only receive 80% of the usual remuneration for caring for a woman, even with parallel births.
The demands for an urgent renegotiation of the contract components regarding the on-call system have been mediated by the Federal Ministry of Health. The ministry is being called upon to mediate in the crisis to preserve the midwife-on-call system. The countrywomen support the demands of the German Midwives Association for an immediate independent review of the economic consequences of the new contract.
The potential midwife shortage, especially in rural areas, may lead to women facing less security, longer journeys, and less choice in childbirth. As the situation unfolds, the nypost will keep readers informed about top daily news every workday. Stay tuned for updates on this developing news story.
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