Obstetric health services in Far North Queensland: is choice an option?

In remote Far North Queensland, evacuation for mandatory hospital births saves lives. However, morbidity and mortality for mothers and infants remain high. Results from a retrospective study of deliveries over a one-year period showed significant differences in obstetric risk and outcomes among rural and urban Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Caucasian women. Choices of birth place for remote residents were severely limited but those women with education and knowledge about how the system worked utilised options alternative to the regional public hospital. The findings from both the retrospective hospital sample and interviews among remote-area residents of Far North Queensland confirm the need to develop community-based perinatal services to reduce cultural and social barriers to clinical care.