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I originally wrote this blog back in 2018, but with the chatter (propaganda) the last few days, I decided this was a good one to update.
Once again, the crusade to replace actual midwifery care with flashing lights, beeping monitors, and glossy brochures continues – this time with a shiny new device hailed by WA Premier Roger Cook as a “game-changer.” Developed right here in WA (because of course, WA has to be the trailblazer in something right) and it’s said to alert clinicians the moment a baby shows signs of distress.
Sounds fancy, right? But let’s not pop the champagne just yet.
Promoting WA’s innovation as a win for the economy under the guise of improving birth outcomes may mask the commercial interests behind medical technology. No mention of how this device integrates with midwifery-led care or supports informed consent raises concerns about pushing intervention as the new norm.
As with any new intervention in birth, I believe it’s important to ask some critical questions before we celebrate it as a “game-changer”:
The description sounds remarkably similar to the existing foetal scalp electrode (FSE), which is already used in hospitals. If this involves inserting a probe into the baby’s scalp, then it’s not exactly new – it’s a modified version of an existing intervention.
Innovation is great – but birth is not broken, and sometimes these devices lead to more surveillance and more intervention, not less. Let’s make sure we’re not just developing new tools but also asking the right questions.
And somehow, midwives – actual humans trained in physiological birth, conversation, reassurance, and evidence-based support – are being sidelined. Again.
Innovation for the sake of the economy shouldn’t come at the expense of women’s bodies and birthing experiences. When 1 in 3 women in Australia describe their births as traumatic, we must question whether more monitoring and invasive procedures are the answer – especially when those same tools have historically led to increased interventions without improved outcomes. Of course, supporting WA-made innovation is great – when it’s safe, evidence-based, and actually improves care. But let’s not cheerlead for devices simply because they’re local. We need transparency, unbiased research, and most importantly, respect for informed consent. Birth is not a commercial venture, although hospitals will see this differently, it’s a deeply personal, physiological process.
Women deserve more than to be test subjects in the name of economic “wins.”
So, what exactly is this device?
Retired obstetrician, researcher, and author Dr Kirsten Small breaks it down brilliantly in a short video over at Birth Small Talk. It’s a great explainer if you want to understand what the device does — and what it doesn’t.
More information – CLICK HERE
So, this brings me back to the point that was my original blog from 2018.
I can hear the machines already:
Ping! “You’re 40 weeks, time to induce.”
Ping! “Your baby’s big, you’ll need a caesarean.”
Ping! “We’ve just booked your birth between golf and lunch.”
Cue Monty Python’s iconic “machine that goes ping” skit from The Meaning of Life, where the doctor reverently introduces the hospital’s most expensive machine… that does absolutely nothing except make a ping noise. Watch it. Laugh. Then weep a little when you realise it’s basically a live broadcast from our maternity wards.
We’re not just talking about gadgets and gizmos. We’re talking about a shift away from continuity of care, relationships, and birth as a deeply human experience, toward a system obsessed with control, liability, and performance indicators.
Remember twilight sleep? If not, brace yourself – drugged women, restrained wrists, complete memory loss of birth… and yet somehow, it was hailed as the humane way for women to birth. It was marketed as innovative, modern, and progressive – a breakthrough in obstetric care. Watch the video (trigger warning: it’s horrifying), and then ask yourself — are we really that far removed from it?
Because if this “new tech” trend continues, women won’t just lose their voice — they’ll lose their rights.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH TWILIGHT SLEEP VIDEO – TRIGGER WARNING
So let me just jump in before the obligatory Karen pipes up with, “But obstetricians save lives!”
Yes, Karen. We know. Everyone knows. And I say this in all my classes – obstetricians are highly skilled surgeons, and when birth deviates from normal or becomes high-risk, their expertise is invaluable. They save lives. That is their zone of genius, and we’re lucky to have them.
They do 8 to 10 years of intensive medical training to earn their title – and rightly so. But let’s be clear: that doesn’t automatically make them the experts in physiological birth. Studying pathology, surgery and risk management is not the same as supporting a healthy woman through an undisturbed, normal labour. That’s where midwives shine – because normal birth is their specialty.
I’ve worked alongside some incredible obstetricians who genuinely respect women’s autonomy and only intervene when necessary – not when convenient. They support informed choice, even when a woman declines a routine induction or other standard procedure. That’s the gold standard.
But unfortunately, not all obstetricians are created equal – I’ve also seen the kind who act like they’re running a military operation, where consent is optional, and fear is the main communication tool along with all the machines that go ping. The kind who seems to have missed the memo on the AMA’s own Position Statement on Maternal Decision Making, which very clearly says that a woman’s right to choose must be respected.
CLICK HERE TO READ AMA MATERNITY DECISION MAKING GUIDELINES
In 2018, the then AMA President Dr Tony Bartone wrote to politicians warning against midwife-led care becoming “the standard.”
Why?
Because continuity of care is bad for profits?
Because too many women might realise birth doesn’t need to be a medical emergency?
Because if midwives took the lead, the caesarean rate might (gasp) go down?
Sorry, but if the biggest concern is that normal birth might become… normal again, then we have a problem.
Let’s take a look at the math:
WHO recommends a caesarean rate of 10–15%.
Australia’s hovers around 39%.
In private hospitals, it’s anywhere between 40% and 60% (but probably even more now that these private hospitals are not required to share their statistics publicly – so there is no transparency).
But that’s okay, because private hospitals offer… cheese platters. Mmmm….. Trauma and brie.
What we actually need is education. Real, robust, independent education on physiological birth, options, alternatives, and informed consent – not more machines or techno-utopias that override women’s instincts with a clinical ping.
Here’s the thing. Midwives are the original “device.”
They read the woman, not the monitor.
They watch, listen, wait, support, and know birth.
They know birth isn’t a malfunction.
It’s not something to “fix.”
It’s something to witness and support — with hands, heart, and presence.
But we’re fast approaching a future where we will no longer need obstetricians, midwives… or even women. Because let’s face it – if the trajectory continues, we’ll just outsource birth to a mechanical uterus on wheels and beam in the ping by Bluetooth.
Stop the conditioning.
Stop the convenience-led interventions.
Stop robbing women of the opportunity to discover what they are truly capable of.
If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
Look at the woman, not the screen.
Touch her hand, not the monitor.
Encourage her, don’t schedule her.
Birth isn’t a production line – it’s a rite of passage.
Let’s not trade humanity for technology just because it was “Made in WA.”
Let’s stop chasing the ping and start chasing connection.
Let’s stand for midwives and doulas, bodily autonomy, and women’s wisdom – before we become obsolete in our own birthing rooms.
If you have any questions or would just like more information please don't hesitate to get in touch by clicking the button below and filling out the contact form.
Contact Vicki