New Zealand funds midwives to provide antenatal vaccines

The initiative supports the government’s whooping cough response.

Community midwives in New Zealand will now be funded to provide antenatal immunisations to pregnant women, according to Health Minister Simeon Brown.

Under the funding, midwives can now claim payments for administering selected vaccines to pregnant women in their care.

The initiative is in line with the government’s response to the national whooping cough epidemic, which has seen more than 2,600 cases nationwide, with nearly half of all infant cases requiring hospital care.

“By making vaccines easier to access, we are helping to protect mothers, safeguard newborns, and reduce the toll of serious, preventable diseases across New Zealand,” Brown said.

The project is being implemented through a partnership between Health New Zealand and the Midwifery and Maternity Providers Organisation.