Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to express my sincere gratitude and also to highlight to the House, and hopefully a wider audience, the great work that has been done by the Western Australian Preterm Birth Prevention Initiative, which has been brought to my attention by Professor of Obstetrics John Newnham.

Professor Newnham is the executive director of the Women and Infants Research Foundation of Western Australia. The foundation is an independent research institution solely dedicated to improving infant health and women's reproductive health. Recently, I met with Professor Newnham, who spoke to me about the foundation's latest preterm birth prevention initiative, which is entitled The Whole Nine Months. He sought me out after I mentioned in an article in the paper that my youngest child was born 10 weeks early in June last year—so this is a topic that is very close to my heart. Luckily, for my wife and I, he is a very happy and healthy child but, of course, that is not always the case—the news, unfortunately, can be devastatingly different for parents.

Preterm birth is a major cause of death and disability in young children in the developed world, and Professor Newnham and his team are currently working on what is a unique plan to prevent this complication in pregnancy occurring. The Whole Nine Months campaign has the single aim of safely lowering the rate of preterm birth in Western Australia by combining the latest evidence-based clinical practice with educational outreach programs for healthcare practitioners and the general public. Ongoing research and evaluation of the effectiveness will ensure that the initiative does remain responsive in what is a rapidly changing field of medicine. By working together with Western Australia's healthcare professionals and the 34,000 women who give birth each year in Western Australia, Professor Newnham and his team hope to achieve the goal of safely lowering the rate of preterm birth by 15 per cent over the next two years and 35 per cent over the next five years. Thanks to Professor Newnham and the foundation's research finding, the Western Australian Preterm Birth Prevention Initiative has been made possible.

Already, we can see significant results. They have actually had some success lowering the rate of preterm birth around the state overall. Clinical strategies have been developed to lower the preterm birth rate and to make pregnancy safer for women and, of course, for their babies. I would encourage all Australians who are expecting a child to visit The Whole Nine Months website, which is at www.thewholeninemonths.com.au, for a range of information and fact sheets around raising awareness and reducing the risk of preterm birth across Australia.

Finally, on a personal note, I would like to acknowledge the incredible professionalism that I found when we had our baby significantly preterm. The staff in the ICU at the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Perth were just amazing. They did guide my wife and I through what was a very difficult time. The care that my younger son received was quite remarkable. I did want to mention that in the House, and, again, to acknowledge Professor Newnham and his team for being inspiring advocates for preterm birth prevention. I would like this initiative, and information about the initiative, to go as far and wide as possible. I do wish it every success.