The new Thames Birthing Unit’s inauguration is scheduled for September 05, and starting then, it is expected to offer best possible maternity care for women in Thames.

The clinical midwife Director for Waikato DHB has expressed confidence that the recent unit will enable midwives to offer high quality care for Thames-Coromandel-Hauraki District mothers as well as their infants.

Meanwhile, experts in New Zealand have analyzed around 16,000 low-risk women and observed that who preferred to deliver their baby in a birthing centre or at home were less prone to have medical intervention including emergency caesarean section, and it results in normal vaginal birth.

Simultaneously, the study has also revealed that out of all low risk women who have availed services of tertiary hospital during their labor, just 73% had a normal delivery.

While commenting on the figures, Waikato DHB Director of Nursing and Midwifery, Sue Hayward has stressed on need to encourage rural women for making best use of their local primary birthing facilities, especially those with low-risk pregnancy.

"Whilst interventions in maternity care have a place, low-risk women should think twice before choosing a secondary/tertiary hospital as place of birth”, the Director added.