A look of love and sheer delight crosses Carnarvon mother Bronwyn Brankovic's face as she soothes her one-month-old baby Shae.
But beneath her joy, there is a tinge of sadness.
"Carnarvon is home. I was born in Carnarvon. My first two children were born in Carnarvon. I was really hoping Shae would be born in Carnarvon," she said.
Sadly for Mrs Brankovic, that was not the case.
A shortage of midwives and obstetricians has led to the cancellation of maternity services at Carnarvon's Health Campus, which is the service hospital for the entire Gascoyne region — spanning 135,277 square kilometres, and with a population of about 10,000 people.
Instead, expectant mothers have had to travel to Geraldton or Perth to give birth.
The WA Country Health Service (WACHS) said 17 families had been impacted since the cancellation of maternity services in February — and could not say when those services would resume.
WACHS Midwest Regional Director Rachele Ferrari said the move was necessary for patient safety.
"Right now, and due to COVID-related workforce pressures, it's more appropriate for expectant families in Carnarvon to deliver in Geraldton or Perth, though we continue to provide antenatal and postnatal care locally," she said.
In April, Mrs Brankovic travelled 470km south from Carnarvon to Geraldton, where she stayed for three weeks to give birth to her daughter Shae.
The Patient Assisted Travel Scheme, known as PATS, covers accommodation costs up to $110 a night.
But Mrs Brankovic said she was unable to find suitable accommodation for less than that during the Easter school holidays and was left $420 out of pocket for her three-week stay.
"They like you to be in Perth or Geraldton at about 36 weeks of pregnancy," she said.
"In booking my accommodation, I was quoted $3,000.
"PATS did come to the party for most of that but $420 is still a fair chunk of a wage."
A widespread issue
The WA Country Health Service said regional WA continued to face ongoing workforce pressures, and a State Government spokesperson said they were currently looking overseas to fill the staffing gap.
But Dr Lesley Kuliukas, from Curtin University's School of Nursing, has called on the State Government to provide funding to help more regional Western Australians become midwives.
She said anyone with an Arts or Science undergraduate degree could study midwifery.
"If the best midwife in a country area is one who has been born and grown up there, who is very likely to stay there and provide the service for the rest of their life; pay for their accommodation, pay for their flights and also give them a bursary while they're studying," she said.
Housing crisis a contributor
Carnarvon Shire President Eddie Smith said a shortage of accommodation in the town was also increasing pressures on staffing levels at the Carnarvon Health Campus.
"There's an increase in demand for housing overall, we have a lack of builders available," he said.
"The Shire is looking closely at what it can do.
"Maybe we can borrow some money and trigger some of that development."
WA Minister for Regional Development Alannah MacTiernan said the State Government was looking at providing houses for midwives across regional WA.
"The Minister for Housing is looking at all vacant houses that we've got ... how can we get those repaired, how can we get those back on the market."
Mrs Brankovic hopes a short-term fix is found soon and maternity services resume in Carnarvon.
"We're not a small town, we're a service town and we have the resources," she said.
"We just need people to man those resources so I hope they can get that amended by the end of the year."
