INDEPENDENT MIDWIVES ...

Providing continuity of care out in the community, these amazing women are the backbone of Homebirth in South Australia. They enable homebirth to be a safe and secure birthing option.

Each midwife may also provide services such as lactation consultancy, antenatal information groups, active birth workshops, women's health and contraceptive advice, natural family planning, post-natal depression counselling. Please contact midwives directly for more information about individual skills and services offered.

Remember that the relationship you will establish with your midwife during the course of your pregnancy and birth will be a very close and personal one, so ensure that the midwife you select is the one who you feel the most at ease with. You may need to speak with several midwives about both your and their requirements, including the avaliability of the midwife around the time that your baby is due and their travel arrangements.

 

Full-Time Midwives in Private Practice ...

These midwives work as independent midwives for their full time job. They are avaliable to care for you for planned homebirths and some will also accompany you for births in other settings.

WILLIAMS, Kathryn – Sellicks Beach

Home: 08 8556 3630, Mobile: 042 045 8770, Email: katndale(at)gmail.com , www.isupportwomen.blogspot.com

I am based in Sellicks Beach but happy to travel. I am a mother and midwife. I finished my Bachelor of Midwifery in 2004 and then moved to New Zealand to work as an Independent midwife. I started my homebirth career there and my passion just keeps growing. My role as a midwife is to believe in women; to trust the process and trust birth. I feel I am like a guide: helping women along the way as they learn and blossom into wonderful confident mothers.

First and foremost - Birth is a normal life event! Women are designed to give birth naturally, without intervention and home birth provides the best possibility of achieving a physiological birth without interference. Home birth is empowering and amazing.

I birthed at home in July 2009. Lucy is our first baby and our greatest achievement! I truly believe birth at home is safe - I would never intentionally put my baby at risk. Birth at home and becoming a mother has been the most intense, special and transformative stage of my life. In labour I said I never wanted to be with a woman in labour again... I lied; I'm ready to be a midwife again.

I will work with up to 2 homebirth families a month (antenatal, birth and postnatal care to 6 weeks), offer back-up for other midwives and I'm happy to provide support or education for women free birthing or birthing in hospital. I’m happy to talk with you about your specific needs.

THORNTON, Wendy – Hahndorf

Home: 08 8391 5259, Mobile: 0402 141 709, Email:wendy_midwife(at)optusnet.com.au

My name is Wendy Thornton. I live at Hahndorf , with hubby Peter, who has been my life partner since we were both 18yrs young!!! We have 5 beautiful offspring....Leith 24yrs, Nikki 23yrs, Tabitha 13yrs, Rebekah 9yrs and Kalan 3.5yrs. I am an Independent Midwife birthing with families wanting home birth. I was born in New Zealand where I did my original training as a general obstetric nurse. I saw my first birth at the tender age of 17 and experienced the wonderous joy surrounding this beautiful life event and knew then that I would be a midwife one day.

Peter and I were destined to live in Adelaide - living here from 1981 till 1984, then being drawn back in 1988. And whilst I have thought many times about returning home and working as a midwife in New Zealand the truth is that my heart totally belongs in Adelaide and I love working as a Midwife here. I am proud of my midwifery training at the old Queen Victoria Hospital in the early 1990's and I followed that with working at the WCH , Mt Barker Hosp and then Murray Bridge Hospital but I really learnt what a true Midwife is when I started working out in the community.

I have an innate trust in nature’s infinite wisdom- in our ability to grow our babies, birth our babies and nurture our babies. I know not to interfere, to wait patiently and to trust .The relationship between myself and the birthing woman is so sacred and unique. I truly believe that when women are physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally prepared for the journey of birth and motherhood they are able to trust in their ability to birth and their experience is both positive and empowering. The last 8 yrs have taught me so much and in some ways the greatest gift of all is that I see something unique and learn something more at every birth! So my journey will keep on going.

SMART-VAHER, Rosey - Willunga

Home: 08 8556 2606, Mobile: 0404 174 858, Email: roseymidwife(at)gmail.com

I am a midwife and mother of 4.

I did my midwifery training in SA at the QVH in 1975 and I attended my first homebirth in 1977. I have been involved in the homebirth movement intensely and on the fringe since then not always taking on births due to family responsibilities.

I spent 3 years in Tennant Creek in the early 90's working at ANYINGINYI CONGRESS with WOMENS BUSINESS supporting Aboriginal women to birth and supporting the women to care for the young mothers. These 3 years were intense and I still miss my time there even 14 years on! I learnt a great deal about myself and women and birth, and this learning underpins my current learning

I will support women to birth in the venue of their choice and am totally committed to HOMEBIRTH. I had 3 of my 4 babies at home and the last was born in a birth centre with my own midwife because we didn't have a home after coming back from Tennant Creek!

I am available to work with families who are committed to developing their own birth plan with information they have researched and require them to make informed decisions. I have a wealth of experinece and can offer anecdotes when required.

ABOVE ALL I BELIEVE BIRTH IS A NORMAL LIFE EVENT!!

My preferrance is to birth in the southern suburbs, as far North as the city, YET i do make exceptions for various reasons that may not be clear to others.

GARRATT, Julie - Woodside

Mobile: 0404 370 701 (SMS if you require call back) Email: juliegarratt(at)ihug.com.au

My name is Julie Garratt and I am a registered Midwife and International Board certified Lactation Consultant.

I work in private practice across the full scope of midwifery care including but not limited to pre conception, pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and postnatal care. I support women to birth at home or in a venue of their choice with their own Midwife. I believe BIRTH IS A NATURAL LIFE EVENT and humans have perfected it over thousands of generations. All women should be given the opportunity to birth undisturbed where they feel safe and nurtured.

I understand that many women have had difficult birthing experiences in the past and have a complex journey to negotiate during subsequent pregnancies. I also have a strong commitment to helping first time parents to gain confidence in their lives with their new baby. My care also encompasses partner and sibling inclusivity as I respect that birth has a profound effect on all involved.

Apart from homebirths, I’ve worked at Mt Barker hospital, in rural continuity of care in Chrystal Brook, as a birth centre midwife in a tertiary hospital and spent time at a charity birthing centre in the Philippines (helping up to six women birth in a single 12 hour shift) not ideal but quite an adventure! It also gave me the opportunity to consolidate my skills in normal birth outside of the hospital system.

I can offer you antenatal care, childbirth, postnatal and breastfeeding support. Homebirth or support in hospital in some circumstances. I also have several birthing pools to choose from if you wish to water birth at home. These services as in all things are negotiated in partnership with you. YOUR BIRTH, YOUR WAY.

BARRETT, Lisa - Crafers

Home: 08 8339 1241, Mobile: 0439 802 937, Email:lisa(at)jelikin.org, www.homebirth.net.au

My name is Lisa Barrett; I have been a midwife for over 20 years. I trained in the UK and work there gaining experience both being in charge of a maternity unit and in the community until 2002 when myself my husband and our 4 children made the big decision to move to Australia.

As part of coming to this Country I was expected to work inside the system and was in charge of the maternity unit at Ashford hospital. I did this for 2 years as was expected of me and once I became a permanent resident of Australia I once again started working in the community.

I provide a one on one midwifery service in the comfort of your own home throughout your pregnancy labour and birth and in the postnatal period.

I believe that pregnancy is a natural part of the life cycle and not an illness. Having a midwife who is a specialist in normal healthy pregnant women it the best way to have a beautiful fulfilling and gentle birth.

Birthing at home with a midwife has proven to be safe if not safer than birthing in the hospital environment where fear is high. This alone can hinder the birth process. Throughout your pregnancy together we learn about your body and your baby, you become familiar with what is happening and will have total knowledge of the birth process making you 100% confident in the knowledge that birthing your baby is a normal event. In your own home with friends and family around you birth is truly the miracle of life not a traumatic medical situation.

After the baby is born. As you and the newest member of your family get to know each other and establish breast-feeding. I call every day in the first week to ensure your health and well being, help with any initial problems and am on hand 24 hours a day for advice. Then over the next few weeks I call regularly to check your progress. Then I call weekly for 6 weeks but which time your transformation into new mum or larger family is complete.

I am experienced in all types of birth and this includes birthing at home with babies in a breech position, twins and birth after caesarean. All women deserve one to one midwifery care during their confinement I don’t believe it is restrictive. Anyone who believes that want and need this service should be entitled to get it.

Midwives Attending Homebirths in SA...

These women may only work part time or may balance their private midwifery practice with other work. They may be avaliable to care for you for planned homebirths and some will also accompany you for births in other settings.

DONNELLAN-FERNANDEZ, Roz - Hawthorndene

Home: 08 8278 1429, Mobile: 0417 851 883, Email: elduende(at)chariot.net.au

Roz is a mother and community midwife who has maintained a clinical caseload midwifery practice since 1994. Through this practice she provides comprehensive continuity of antenatal, birthing and postnatal midwifery care to women and their babies in the home, hospital and community. She has also regularly facilitated Active Birth Workshops in Adelaide over the past 12 years in conjunction with Coast Yoga Centre, in addition to providing guest lectures and placements for undergraduate and postgraduate midwifery students at both Flinders Uni and Uni SA.

Roz believes childbirth is a significant and transformational event in a woman and families life. She is certified (and recertified 3 times) with the Australian College of Midwives nationally as an Accredited Independent Practising Midwife, and is also a certified Lactation Consultant with the International Board of Lactation Consultants. She has held clinical privileges / admitting rights at 2 tertiary referral maternity hospitals in Adelaide prior to the national withdrawal of professional indemnity insurance for midwives in mid 2001. Despite this she maintains a small private community midwifery practice, attending births in both homes and hospitals, and is currently Joint Midwifery Unit Head of the expanding Midwifery Group Practices at the Children, Youth & Women’s Health Service, a public continuity midwifery model.

Roz is also highly politically active, believing that the status and health of women and infants is integrally linked to strengthening professional, legislative and industrial frameworks for midwifery that enable choice, safety, and quality of maternity service delivery for Australian families. As such, Roz has served as a member of the Australian National Education Standards Taskforce for Midwifery, 3 consecutive years as an elected member on the Nurses Board of South Australia (currently Deputy Chair), currently Chair of the NBSA inaugural Midwifery Committee and a founding member of the Australian Midwives Act Lobby Group. Roz is committed to regulatory reform that acknowledges the status of midwifery as a profession in its own right, including a nationally consistent legislative framework in line with COAG initiatives. She also continues to advocate for structural funding reforms in the health sector that would enable transparent private and public rebates for midwifery care provided to families in Australia.

Roz has undertaken tertiary studies in law, nursing and midwifery, and completed a Masters Degree in Women’s Health in 1996. She completed her initial midwifery education at the Queen Victoria Hospital in 1992, following on with a graduate year in 1993. Prior to this she has worked in the 1980’s as a mental health nurse in SA and general nurse in her home state of Queensland in both rural and metropolitan settings.

 

GILLETT, Jennifairy - Mt Barker

Home: 08 8391 5542, Mobile: 0415 915 110, Email:jennifairy(at)internode.on.net

 

GRIGG-SMITH, Milly - Willunga

Home: 08 8556 4490, Mobile: 0422 708 549, Email: grigg-smith(at)bigpond.com

 

HEAYSMAN, Leonie - Trott Park

Home: 08 8387 4336, Mobile: 0408 807 248, Email: leonieheaysman(at)hotmail.com

 

NOLAN, Larissa - Fulham

Home: 08 8356 1890, Mob: 0404 446 122, Email: midwife(at)iinet.net.au

I have 3 beautiful girls - Callie 6.5yrs, Jaida 4.5yrs and Bridie 3yrs. Bridie was born at home in the water, while Jaida and Callie were born at Flinders Medical Centre in the birth centre.

My passion is being a Midwife attending homebirths but at the moment this is a much smaller part of my life - I would love it to increase and become my main focus!!! I also work part time at the WCH in the Midwifery Group Practice. Midwifery is in my blood - I have a few relatives who are/were midwives so I guess I was born a midwife ;) I supported women as a Doula for a short while before formally becoming a midwife. Since then I have worked at Flinders Medical Centre and currently at the Women's and Children's. In my student days I also got to observe much of Adelaide's private maternity care system which really opened my eyes!

My practice is based on the fundamental faith that women who are supported and feel safe will birth their babies given the time and space to do so. As women we could not have gotten this far through evolution if our bodies didn't know how to give birth!! AND I am a secret lover of karaoke and a good book accompanied by yummy chocolate – but these are my secrets – so don’t tell anyone!

 

SMALLWOOD, Tania - Stirling

Home: 08 8339 4074, Mobile: 0418 811 814, Email: tan1969(at)tpg.com.au

I have 2 boys, Sam who is 9 and Jake who is nearly 7 who were both born at home in water with our lovely midwife Roz. I completed my midwifery education ‘between babies’ after a short but illustrious career as a general and psychiatric nurse! I am currently available to birth with women choosing out-of-hospital birth, and am happy to provide information and support to women choosing hospital birth too, or to women and families who are just starting out on their pregnancy journey and feeling their way.

My motto is that if you don’t know what your options are, you don’t have any, and I’m passionate about women having access to good information so they can know what all their options are, and be able to weigh up all the risks and benefits before making decisions.

I’m also involved in the day-to-day workings of the Birth Matters group and teach the “Natural Birth and Waterbirth” course every 3 months at WEA with Lareen Newman, which has been a huge success. See the WEA website at http://www.wea-sa.com.au/ for further details.

 

 

Midwives not currently in private practice...

These midwives are currently not actively attending planned homebirths, however are still contactable for information and advice, and may provide other services which may be of use.

 

PRIDE, Rose - Windor Gardens

Mobile: 0432 514 772, Email: rose-brooke(at)hotmail.com

I trained here in S.A as a Midwife and after working in a hospital for a couple of years I moved to New Zealand with my partner so I could work as a Lead Maternity Carer (Independent Midwife). While working there I birthed with women in their homes, returning to my home (S.A.) in 2007 to have my own baby. Now 8 months old, Lilly was a breech homebirth attended by Lisa Barrett.

I am very passionate about the strengths of women and their families, and the awakening and healing powers of home birthing. My aim as a midwife is to return the control to women and their families so they can create the experience they desire.

I am a Midwife - “with woman” - and currently attend 1 homebirth a month. Please don’t hesitate to call or e-mail me for a chat.

 

BLEAKLEY, Anne - Mt Barker

Home: 08 8391 1524

 

MAIER, Belinda - Athelstone

Home: 08 8337 8515, Mobile: 0410 830 001, Email: bmaier(at)picknowl.com.au

 

MINGE, Debra - Heathfield

Home: 08 8339 3464, Mobile: 0402 766 756, Email: deb1minge(at)gmail.com

 

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Midwifery-Led Services (April 2006)...

 

Midwifery Group Practice, Women's and Children's Hospital (public)

72 King William Rd, NORTH ADELAIDE SA

Phone: (08) 8161 7819 Email: cywhs.muhmgp(at)cywhs.sa.gov.au

Midwife-led continuity of carer model, offering known midwife plus back-up midwife through pregnancy, birth and first six weeks postnatal. Midwife consults with obstetric and other staff as needed. Takes women of all risk categories, but limited to about 1,000 women per year, some geographical limits apply. Care provided in community, home and hospital. Book in via first appointment with Women's Outpatients Clinic on (08) 8161 7592. Waterbirth and VBAC supported . No charges to public patients. No private patients or GP-share care: care is midwife-led.

 

Midwifery Group Practice, Queen Elizabeth Hospital (public)

28 Woodville Road, WOODVILLE SOUTH SA

Phone: 08 8222 6000, Email: aurianne.webber(at)nwahs.sa.gov.au

Midwife-led continuity of carer model, offering known midwife plus back-up midwife through pregnancy, birth and first six weeks postnatal. Midwife consults with obstetric and other staff as needed. Takes women of all risk categories. Antenatal and postnatal care provided in community, home and hospital; women currently go to birth at Women's & Children's Hospital. Book in via first appointment with Women's Outpatients Clinic on (08) 8161 7592. Waterbirth and VBAC supported; No charges to public patients; No private patients or GP-share care: care is midwife-led.

 

Southern Midwifery Group Practice, Flinders Medical Centre, SA (public)

Phone Flinders Birth Centre for details: (08) 8204 5511

Planned to start July 2006, to give 450 women per year care from one known midwife through whole of pregnancy, birth and postnatal period.

 

Northern Women's Community Midwifery Program (public)

28 Philip Highway, ELIZABETH SA

Phone: (08) 8252 3711

Offers known midwife plus back-up through pregnancy, birth and first 4-6 weeks postnatal. Located within Northern Women's Community Health Centre with close working relationships with psychologist, domestic violence health worker, interpreters, etc. Midwife works in collaboration with obstetric team at hospital. Program takes women of all risk categories. Limited to 140 women per year, and only for residents of council areas of Salisbury, Playford and Tea Tree Gully. Antenatal, postnatal and birth care in community and home, and at assessment unit at Lyell McEwin Hospital. Waterbirth, homebirth and VBAC supported; No charges to public patients; No private patients or GP-share care: care is midwife-led.

 

Birth Centre, Flinders Medical Centre (public)

Flinders Drive, BEDFORD PARK SA

Phone: (08) 8204 5511

Team of 6-8 midwives works a rotating shift roster to provide antenatal, labour, birth and postnatal care to women who have "normal" pregnancies. Midwifery philosophy, woman-centred and woman-led care, but no continuity of carer (however, MGP with own midwife is replacing the Birth Centre from July 2006). Waterbirth supported - large baths and experienced midwives; VBAC in labour ward only; no charges to public patients.

 

Birthing Unit, Lyell McEwin Health Service (public)

Haydown Road, ELIZABETH VALE SA

Phone: (08) 8182 9000

Midwifery-led continuity of carer program in pregnancy and at birth in low risk room. Deep baths available. Home midwifery service and free "Mothercarer" service for up to 6 days postnatal. One-on-one midwifery care (continuity of carer) and homebirth possible for women receiving care through the Northern Women's Community Midwifery Program (NWCMP), who may also birth at this Birth Centre with their NWCMP midwife; No charges to public patients.

 

Mt Barker District Hospital (public)

Wellington Road, MOUNT BARKER SA

Phone: (08) 8393 1777

May commence Midwifery Group Practice - phone for details. Currently has community midwife providing postnatal visits at home, but pregnancy care is GP-led. No charges. Baby-Friendly Accredited.

 

Modbury Public Hospital (public)

41-69 Smart Rd, MODBURY SA

Phone: (08) 8264 6000

Same midwife for each prenatal visit by request, but not same midwife for birth. Home-visiting midwives for pre and postnatal visits also.

 

Gawler Health Service (public)

21 Hutchinson Road, GAWLER EAST SA

Phone: (08) 8521 2369

Antenatal care on-site with a midwife for 'low risk' women. Midwifery care for labour/birth; midwife consults with obstetric and other staff as needed. May see same midwife in labour/postnatal as antenatal midwives also work with inpatients. Community midwifery provides home visiting after discharge, up to 10 days.

 

Community Midwifery Service, Lower Eyre Health Service (public)

Tumby Bay Road, Cummins & Esplanade, TUMBY BAY SA

Phone: (08) 8688 2629

One midwife provides pre-and postnatal care, may also attend births at Cummins or Port Lincoln hospitals, or births may be attended by other hospital midwives.

 

Port Augusta Community Midwifery Programme (public)

Port Augusta Hospital & Regional Health Services, Hospital Rd, PORT AUGUSTA SA

Phone: (08) 8648 5500

Being established to take 20 women per year; includes special clinic for Indigenous women with Aboriginal Health Workers also involved in care.

 

Whyalla Community Midwifery Programme (public)

The Whyalla Hospital & Health Service, Wood Terrace, WHYALLA SA

Phone: (08) 8648 8300

Being established to take 20 women per year at each site; includes special clinic for teenage mothers.