1. Models of Midwifery Care
    • GP shared care – women’s survey
    • What drives women’s choices of model of care
    • Scaling up – expanding midwifery continuity of care to women with complexities and vulnerabilities
  2. Health Technology in maternity care
  3. Women and their families with vulnerabilities
  4. Supporting the workforce 

Currently in Australia, less than 1% of women give birth at home. Until the late 90s, women planning a homebirth needed to engage a privately-practising midwife. However, in recent decades a new model of care, known as publicly-funded homebirth, has become increasingly available to women seeking a homebirth. Publicly-funded homebirth models are provided by some public hospitals often within a midwifery-led continuity of care model.

Learn more about publicly-funded homebirth

Clinical supervision for midwives

Midwives are pivotal to the wellbeing of women and their babies. Indeed, there is an urgent global call to upscale midwifery to address the rates of women and babies who are injured or die in childbirth. However, in Australia, similar to other high-income countries, there is another type of crisis occurring that we can no longer ignore - midwives in significant numbers are leaving the profession.

Learn more about clinical supervision for midwives

Technological innovation in women’s health

New research explores the way different fetal monitoring technologies influence the work of midwives.

Learn more: With woman, not with machine (news story)

Our collaborative research improves the health of pregnant women, children and adolescents in Australia with a particular focus on the Asia Pacific region.

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Transcript

[Visual: UTS Faculty of Health logo appears. Cut to Prof Angela Dawson speaking to camera.] Prof Angela Dawson: Welcome to the Faculty of Health here at the University of Technology, Sydney. Our collaborative research improves the health of pregnant women, children and adolescents in Australia, with a particular focus on the Asia-Pacific region.

[Visual: Prof Kathleen Baird speaking. Cut to supportive images of women and families.] Prof Kathleen Baird: Thirty percent of all women who experience domestic and family violence, the first incident of family violence will occur during pregnancy. What we are hoping, by researching and by talking about this, is to take away that stigma and shame, but also for women to feel safe, to be able to say, "Yes, I'm in a violent relationship. Yes, I feel I need support."

[Visual: Prof Angela Dawson speaking. Infographics showing statistics about FGM.] Prof Angela Dawson: There are about 200 million women and girls who are affected by female genital mutilation, FGM, in the world today. It's estimated there are about 54,000 women and girls in Australia who have FGM.

[Visual: Prof Sabera Turkmani speaking. Map graphics showing migration patterns.] Prof Sabera Turkmani: The practice originated from the Horn of Africa and then migrated to the Middle East, but most people think that this practice is just going on in those parts of the world. We have seen more and more women in developed countries, such as Australia. My research was to bring up more evidence in the area of maternal health, in relation to the health of those women who have undergone this practice. It's very important for health professionals to have cultural knowledge and know how to provide culturally sensitive and safe care to those women.

[Visual: Prof Kathleen Baird speaking. Footage of midwives supporting women.] Prof Kathleen Baird: In pregnancy, women are asked very sensitive questions about their lifestyle by midwives. So trust is really, really important in that relationship, when midwives step into that space and start to ask those questions, but we have to think about how we ask it. Asking that question in the right way is really, really important, which is why education and training and support for professionals in this space is really, really important.

[Visual: Prof Sabera Turkmani speaking. Cut to women in healthcare settings.] Prof Sabera Turkmani: The other area which these women really desire in their care is that they should be involved in the process of their care as an equal part, not just sitting there and being told by providers what they should do.

[Visual: Prof Kathleen Baird speaking. Images of collaborative care.] Prof Kathleen Baird: Having their voice and understanding what works for them is really, really important in this work. I would not dream of doing this work without their involvement.

[Visual: Prof Angela Dawson speaking. Footage of clinicians and patients in discussion.] Prof Angela Dawson: This is a key part of patient-centred care, ensuring that women are at the forefront of their care and are involved in shared decision making. We need to ensure that clinicians are talking to women in a way that's appropriate and meaningful and relevant, and takes their values and preferences for care into that space.

[Visual: Prof Sabera Turkmani speaking. Closing images of diverse women and healthcare professionals.] Prof Sabera Turkmani: My key message for health providers: women know a lot about their body and what their needs are. When you're providing care to women, especially those who are coming from a different culture with special needs, such as those who have been affected by female genital mutilation, consider their needs and count them as part of the care. Make yourself competent and confident in providing safe care to those who are in need.