For the past year and a half, I have been writing fortnightly articles for Scenic News on topics relating to pregnancy, birth and newborn babies from a midwifery perspective. It has been wonderful to have the opportunity to share a little information with people who may not have regular access to a midwife or who have family members expecting a baby. Unfortunately, the public system is very stretched regarding antenatal and postnatal care.

Most commonly, women will receive a booking appointment with a midwife between 20-25 weeks, and only have two more midwife appointments in their pregnancy, at 36 and 40 weeks. The rest of the appointments are provided by GPs. This means that for the first half of their pregnancy, most women will not have access to a midwife to discuss concerns, anxieties, birth plans, or practical information about birthing in the hospital. Birth plans are usually discussed with a midwife at 36 weeks, but the time given for this appointment is often not long enough; so midwife knowledge about the positioning of babies, optimizing this for birth, normal labour, and pain relief options are often not covered in as much detail as they could be. Women will have up to ten antenatal appointments during their pregnancy, they should have more than three with a midwife. Postnatally, midwives have an enormous role to play particularly in breastfeeding support and emotional support. However again, women will receive only one or two appointments postnatally in the public system.

My passion for the importance of caring for women and preparing them for birth, and then supporting them in their new role in parenting a new baby is what led me to want to provide antenatal and postnatal care to women local to the Mountain. I have had the great privilege of caring for some wonderful families up here; women and families who have let me into their homes and allowed me to share my knowledge with them. To all the families I have been involved with I really do thank you for trusting me and making these last few years so rewarding for me in the community. However, for a variety of reasons, I have decided to finish up providing this service at the end of January 2022, and this will be my final article for Scenic News. I would like to thank Gary and Andrew at Scenic News for allowing me to write my articles and for being so supportive. Also special thanks to Dr Hok-Yee Siu and Dr Marije Dalebout at Tamborine Mountain Medical Practice who have worked so readily with me in providing care for local women in their pregnancies.

Midwives have so much knowledge and information to give, and if you are pregnant I would strongly encourage you to source information to help you prepare for the birth of your baby. There are lots of resources around, but some sources to start with can include the websites www.optimalmaternalpositioning.com and 
 www.spinningbabies.com. There are also a lot of people who provide education on Instagram, like @serenitylifedoula who posts about maternal positions during labour and exercises to prepare, and @the.mama.physio, a physiotherapist who provides exercises and education for pre and postnatal care. There are also private midwives around, a former colleague of mine can be found at @themustardseedmidwife, and she provides antenatal, birthing and postnatal care privately. You can also call the Pregnancy, Birth and Baby hotline for advice 24 hours a day on 1800 882 436. 

This hotline is like 13HEALTH, but with midwives and child health nurses to discuss specific pregnancy and baby-related issues.
I wish you all a wonderful holiday period and a happy new year. Enjoy your families, and remember that reputable sources of knowledge can make a big difference to how you feel during your birth journey.

Bree Lowing is a Registered Midwife and provides bulk-billed in-home antenatal and postnatal services through The Mountain Midwife www.themountainmidwife.com.au and 0491 750 795.