As of: February 10, 2024, 10:00 a.m
By: Veronika Ahn-Tauchnitz
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The district is thinking about establishing a midwife placement at the district office.
Implementation should take place in 2025 at the earliest © Seidel/dpa
The Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district supports midwives with funding.
Now there are considerations about changing the approach.
Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen - The district has been supporting midwives in the district who are involved in postnatal care to a certain extent by increasing state funding since 2018.
Last year, 15 obstetricians benefited from this grant, which ranges between 1,056 and 2,113 euros.
A total of almost 27,500 euros was distributed.
The district contributes ten percent of this.
However, the funding guidelines have now changed.
The administration is therefore suggesting that the district could also rethink what its midwife support should look like in the future.
Suggestion: midwife placement at the district office
The district committee discussed the issue at its most recent meeting.
“Not all midwives are active in postpartum care, and some do not reach the required numbers,” said department head Wolfgang Krause, pointing out one of the problem areas.
The funding did not result in more midwives setting up shop in the district.
“We would therefore perhaps switch to midwife placement, which is located here at the district office,” said Krause.
The position could provide someone suitable for expectant mothers who sometimes find it difficult to find a midwife.
There is now something similar in surrounding districts.
The fact that there is a need for this is also one of the findings from the midwife consultation, which was recently discontinued.
Implementation should take place in 2025 at the earliest.
The creation of a half-time position would be necessary for this.
There is a simple reason why the district committee has had to deal with the issue now: state funding for this would have to be applied for this year.
Good experiences with midwife placement in other districts
Werner Weindl (CSU) was skeptical.
“Does a pregnant woman first think of the district office when she is looking for a midwife or rather the gynecologist or the clinic?” he asked.
He also asked himself the question, said District Administrator Josef Niedermaier (FW).
In fact, surrounding districts have had good experiences.
Barbara Schwendner (Greens) also thinks this makes sense.
The need is definitely there.”
However, she struggled a little with sacrificing the previous support for postpartum care.
“I see more of an additional need.” Given the budget situation, it is of course difficult to burden yourself with additional expenses.
Susanne Merk (FW) had a hard time making a quick decision.
“Can we discuss this again?” she asked.
In fact, the whole thing has to be carefully considered.
Because what will happen with the Free State's current obstetric guidelines from 2026 remains to be seen.
In the event that this is not extended, the financing of half the position for the placement office will then depend entirely on the district.
“But we don’t have any time constraints,” emphasized Krause, referring to the request to postpone.
The majority of the district committee voted to postpone the decision on how to deal with midwifery funding in the future until one of the next meetings.
(va)