General

Women in remote areas hide pregnancies to avoid medical costs

In one region of Australia, women have to travel 1,000 km to get care

Women from remote areas where there is difficulty recruiting and keeping obstetricians, and where governments refuse to cover out of pocket expenses are increasingly hiding their pregnancies and refusing care. In remote Australian aboriginal communities, for example, more women are hiding pregnancies and giving birth at home without a midwife or doctor instead of travelling hundreds or kilometres for treatment at a hospital. An Opposition health spokesman for Australia’s government has asked the Government to fully cover the out-of-pocket expenses for expectant women forced to travel in order to curb this dangerous trend.

The Australian

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