00:02A vital pregnancy, birth and postnatal service worried funding shortfalls could force its doors to close.
00:10We've been around since the early 80s and we're offering a drop-in service that is not offered by any
00:16other organisation or service model within Alice Springs.
00:21Parents say not-for-profit community organisation Birth and Beyond fills a critical gap in Central Australia.
00:28You can kind of stop in if you need to. You can come and borrow resources.
00:33It's also the place that you hire a birth pool from if you're planning a home birth.
00:37If you're having difficulty breastfeeding then we've got breast pumps that you can use, TENS machines, all that kind of
00:43stuff.
00:44Both tiers of government say they want the service to thrive.
00:47While the NT Health Department says they have offered to renegotiate with Birth and Beyond in line with their current
00:52agreement and timeframes.
00:54But the board says that isn't enough.
00:57We're doing things at a capacity that's underfunded and or it's relying on committee volunteer time which is just not
01:05sustainable into the future.
01:07What's at stake for this transient town is a lifeline warding off isolation when support feels far away.
01:15It's been a place to make up some of what you lose when you don't have family around you to
01:21be that support for you in a hugely wild, life changing time.
01:27There's nothing else like this in town but I think what we also don't realise is that other places around
01:32Australia do have these services.
01:34Many hoping they won't be left alone.
01:37Many hoping they won't be left alone.
01:37I mean, there's no idea what we normally do in the future.
01:39It's like I mean, they need the emphasis on doing stuff.
01:39We need to make a professional like this.
01:39We believe in it, there's no projects that I want to be around but I don't love to thank their
01:40friends.
01:41There's no knowledge.
01:42It's a thing I can fit in this intowife.
01:42What do you do too?
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