STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator MARIELLE SMITH (South Australia) (12:51): From my first speech in this place, and many times since, I've stood in this chamber to raise the issue of women's health because I know that too often these issues have been sidelined. Too often women's experiences have been minimised. Too often their pain has been ignored or dismissed.

Women haven't been heard, and I've tried to use my role in this place to change that. Whether it has been advocacy and awareness for maternal health, endometriosis, pelvic pain or perimenopause and menopause, I have sought to use this position to elevate the voices of women in order to drive the change that they deserve. Today I do so again, but this time it is deeply personal to me.

Having a baby is one of the most miraculous experiences of a parent's life. There is no greater joy or sense of achievement than holding your precious, new baby in your arms. The love is indescribable.

It takes hold of your whole body and is all consuming. It's a love that never leaves you. But the truth is that, alongside these feelings, the days and weeks after birth can be particularly tough, especially for new mothers.

Whether it is challenges with breastfeeding, pelvic floor, mental health or the physical experience of birth, women can find themselves suffering deeply. Too many women find themselves isolated, vulnerable and unable to reach out for help. I know this because I have lived some of these struggles.

This week I chose to publicly share some of my own experiences after the birth of my first child. I have shared that, after I gave birth, I felt like an absolute warrior. I have never felt stronger, braver or more powerful and I have never felt so much love in my heart.

But it was in the days that followed that I really struggled. Breastfeeding was excruciatingly painful. I had mastitis, and it was an agonising experience.

This led to postnatal anxiety. I was very fortunate. I was able to find a wonderful lactation consultant in Adelaide called Robyn who was able to guide me through those extremely difficult weeks.

Because of her help, I was able to breastfeed for more than a year. If I didn't have her help, I simply do not know what I would've done in that dark space I had found myself in. I also know that I was incredibly lucky to live in a capital city like Adelaide, to live close to care and to be able to afford the cost of that care.

I know that is just not possible for a lot of women around Australia, and that is not fair. Access to good-quality care in the postpartum period should not be a matter of what you can afford and where you live, and it can't be left to luck. I want it to change.

So I shared my story, and I want more women to be able to share theirs so we can drive the change we need to see. We can break down the stigma that stops women reaching out in this critical period of their lives. It stops them from getting help.

I am asking for the Senate's support for an inquiry into postpartum health care. We have done so much good work on women's health in this chamber to date. I was proud to serve as deputy chair of two Senate inquiries into women's health last parliament.

Those inquiries sparked a national conversation about the level of support women were receiving and where they were being let down. Because of the courage of the women who came before our committees, we saw a national momentum towards change. We saw the government that I am proud to be a part of drive a massive step change in the way women's health is prioritised and funded in this country.

This has been extraordinarily important work which has changed the lives of women around Australia. But there is still a group of women that I am afraid as a community we are not reaching—women who are struggling with their own experiences, thinking they are not worthy of extra support, women struggling with feelings of failure or shame, women too overwhelmed to leave their house because of anxiety or the physical impacts of their births.

How do we find them? This work is important, and it is deeply personal to me. I am so proud of what this Senate has done up until this point.

I am so proud of the support our government has given to women's health and the funding we've put behind it. We have delivered so much, but there is more to do. I hope to have the Senate's support in this work, and I hope that together we can work to bring the lived experience of women in this period into the spotlight and deliver the change they deserve.