New chair enables enhanced birth experience
Shepparton and Tatura Rotary Club this year donated a new state-of-the art birthing chair to Goulburn Valley Health that enables women to deliver their babies in a more natural way.
The BirthRite Floor Studio is designed to allow women a more natural, upright birth experience and maximise the effects of gravity. It encompasses an ergonomic chair, a side table, secondary chair for the midwife and a special floor mat.
The $10,000 specialised equipment was donated to the hospital’s maternity services by the Rotary Club of Shepparton and Rotary Club of Tatura.
Goulburn Valley Health maternity services manager said the chair would give expectant mothers another birthing option.
‘‘There’s been a gap in our services for expectant mothers, we’ve been waiting for this equipment for years,’’ she said.
‘‘Maternity services staff are really excited about having this new equipment to support women and provide them more options during the birth experience,’’ she said.
The Rotary Club of Shepparton president, John Anderson said the donation was part of an annual donation program to local and international groups.
‘‘The project aimed to do something in the community, but it had to be maternal-health based,’’ he said.
Mr Anderson said a chance conversation with a nurse led to the discussion of what equipment the hospital needed, and the BirthRite equipment was quickly identified as a first priority.
The chair is now available for mothers who have a low birth risk.