Count the Babies

June 2025

Babies count. It’s time they were counted in midwifery workloads. Because safe staffing saves lives – both mothers and babies’ lives.

The ANMF will again launch the Count the Babies campaign to highlight a critical gap in Tasmania’s health system: newborn babies are not consistently counted in midwife workloads.

“This failure puts mothers, babies, and healthcare workers at risk and contributes to unsafe care environments and staff burnout,” ANMF Acting-Branch Secretary Phoebe Mansell said.

“When determining staffing levels in postnatal, MGP settings and neonatal wards, only mothers are often counted, not their babies.

“This means a midwife responsible for four mothers could also be caring for four or more babies – some of whom may be unwell or require close monitoring – without any additional staffing.”

Ms Mansell compared a maternity ward to a childcare centre.

“Imagine a childcare centre that only staffs for the number of parents dropping children off – not the number of children staying. It would be outrageous, unsafe, and probably illegal.

“Yet in our hospitals, midwives are expected to care for mothers without properly accounting for their babies, even though those babies need round-the-clock feeding, assessments, and medical care.

“It’s time we apply the same duty of care in hospitals that we already expect in early childhood education: every baby counts.”

Ms Mansell said caring for a newborn is not passive.

“It includes feeding support, vital observations, early warning assessments, and responding to complex health needs.

“Not counting the babies leads to unsafe workloads, delayed care and increased risk of adverse outcomes for both babies and mothers. It also contributes to midwife fatigue, stress, and burnout, which affects staff retention and the overall sustainability of Tasmania’s maternity services.”

Ms Mansell said the ANMF calls on all political parties to implement a Count the Babies Policy.

“Babies must be formally counted in staffing ratios and workloads in all midwifery settings.

“We call for the next Tasmanian Government to implement safe, evidence-based workload models that reflect the real demands of care.

“Babies deserve better. Midwives deserve better. Mothers deserve better.

“Counting the babies is a simple, common-sense step toward safer care – and the ANMF will continue to campaign until that change is made.”