Author(s): Dr. Lynda Exton

NZ Non Fiction

All is not well with New Zealand maternity care. We have one of the highest newborn death rates in the developed world, the caesarean section operation rate has doubled since the late 1980's, and the number of breastfed babies today is around the lowest it has been since 1990. GP Obstetrician Lynda Exton outlines the back ground of maternity care in NZ, analyses the changes over recent decades and argues that there is a clear link between these worrying trends and government policies that have forced family doctors out of maternity care. First published August 2008.