Midwives turn away pregnant teens | Rotorua News | Local News in Rotorua

Rotorua's pregnant teens are being denied care by midwives who say they are "hard work" and don't listen to medical advice.

That's shocked and angered a Rotorua woman battling to find a midwife for her 14-year-old pregnant daughter who has hearing difficulties and is nearly halfway through her pregnancy.

Midwives say teens eat badly, drink and smoke and often ignore their advice. They're also prone to complications and midwives don't want the responsibility.

The mother rang Rotorua's 22 midwives on behalf of her daughter, who does not want to be identified, soon after discovering she was pregnant. Midwives were either fully booked, were attending an overseas conference near the baby's due date or did not take on teenagers because they were "hard work".

The family GP organised blood tests and a scan and her mother secured an appointment with a Rotorua Hospital midwife for a check but no further appointments are booked. She has no idea who will help her daughter when she goes into labour and said the teenager desperately needed monitoring, as her hearing impairment meant her baby was at risk.

The Lakes district, including Rotorua and Taupo, has the second highest rate of teen pregnancies in the country, an average 180 girls under 20 giving birth each year.

The 14-year-old's mother said the lack of midwifery support for teens was "disgusting" and it appeared they just didn't care.



"I understand they can only have so many clients but Rotorua has a lot of pregnant girls ... There needs to be a place they can go for proper care."

She wants to see Rotovegas Youth Health given extra funding to employ a full-time midwife. The clinic provides GP and nursing services and nurse Carolyn Fitch works two half-days a week, offering midwifery services as part of her role.

She is one of three Rotorua midwives that students at Rotorua's School for Young Parents are referred to for antenatal care.

Social worker Henrietta Wano, an advocate for the students, said the shortage of midwives meant it could take up to five months to find someone willing to take on a pregnant teen.

"Midwives can pick and choose who they have and if they know they're going to get a hard time from the young mothers they won't take them."

Pregnant teens were less likely to keep their appointments unless they had support from an advocate or family, she said.

A Rotorua midwife who did not want to be named said midwives did not want the burden of caring for girls who didn't listen to medical advice.

"Teenagers don't look after themselves. They smoke, eat junk food and don't keep their appointments. They're more likely to have complications and we're the ones in the firing line if something goes wrong. Who would want that responsibility?"

New Zealand College of Midwives regional spokeswoman Karen van der Leden said the Rotorua midwife's comments were a "generalisation" and women of all ages were affected by a workforce shortage and health sector funding woes.

Rotovegas Youth Health clinical leader Dr Tania Pinfold said comprehensive antenatal care was important for young mothers and their babies and youth health services were working closely with the Lakes District Health Board to improve access to services, including antenatal care.

The health board was contacted for comment but did not respond before publication.