World · East Asia & Pacific · 1 hr ago
Report finds Aboriginal women were forced to give birth outside David Berry Hospital
An Aboriginal engagement report documents First Nations women being denied indoor care at David Berry Hospital on the New South Wales South Coast.
The report draws on more than 90 interviews and submissions from 17 Aboriginal organisations.
The hospital opened in 1909, after local Jerringa traditional owners were displaced, and the report says Aboriginal mothers were denied access.
Women were made to labour outside in the cold, and accounts describe mothers being separated from babies sent to nearby institutions.
Twenty-eight per cent of interviewees reported deep trauma and fear linked to historical injustices at the site.
NSW Health is considering seven recommendations, including an Aboriginal governance body and an investigation into possible Aboriginal burial remains on the grounds.
Palliative care services are due to move to Shoalhaven Memorial Hospital within a year, while the site's future is being considered.
An Aboriginal engagement report says First Nations women were forced to give birth outside David Berry Hospital on the New South Wales South Coast.
The report draws on more than 90 interviews and submissions from 17 Aboriginal organisations.
It describes women being denied indoor care and mothers being separated from their children.
The hospital opened in 1909 and now operates as a palliative care unit.
NSW Health is considering recommendations that include an Aboriginal governance body to guide the site’s future.
- Who
- First Nations women who sought maternity care at David Berry Hospital.
- What
- A report says women were denied indoor care and forced to give birth outside, and that Aboriginal mothers were separated from their children.
- When
- The accounts concern the hospital’s 117-year history; the report’s publication date is not stated.
- Where
- David Berry Hospital on the New South Wales South Coast.
- Why
- The report says Aboriginal mothers were denied access to the hospital. It does not state a reason for the treatment.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
David Berry Hospital opened with money bequeathed by landowner David Berry.
Aboriginal women were denied indoor care, according to the report.
Some of Gerry Moore's siblings returned to the hospital for palliative care.
The hospital's palliative care services are due to move to Shoalhaven Memorial Hospital.
- Interviews
- More than 90 Aboriginal community members
- Submissions
- 17 Aboriginal organisations
- Reported trauma
- 28 per cent of interviewed community members reported deep trauma and fear associated with the site
- Hospital opened
- 1909
- Current service
- Palliative care unit
What people are saying
They spoke about the treatment that actually happened in that space,
David Berry Hospital is a birthing place of our people, that's got to be respected,
Two of my brothers went back there to die,