Student spotlight – Tallulah
Tallulah McCarthy-Huxley is a third-year Bachelor of Midwifery student at Griffith University. 1 What inspired you to choose a career in nursing/midwifery? From a young age, I was deeply passionate about healthy and sustainable ways of living. I always envisioned a career in healthcare, but I felt that my holistic beliefs didn’t align with the […]
Calling all midwives and midwifery students: Take part in a nationwide study shaping future of breastfeeding support
Where do Australian midwives and midwifery students gain critical breastfeeding knowledge and support skills? It’s a question that researchers from the University of Notre Dame’s School of Nursing and Midwifery are currently investigating in a bid to enhance best practices. Exclusive breastfeeding is the optimal nutritional food for newborns and babies under six months and […]
Collaborative arrangements abolished, enabling NPs and endorsed midwives to work to full scope
Nurse Practitioners and Endorsed Midwives will finally be able to work to their full scope of practice following the removal of restrictive ‘collaborative arrangements’.
ANMF (Tasmanian Branch) launches ‘Count the Babies’ campaign
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Tasmanian Branch) is calling for babies to be counted in staffing ratios to avoid ‘dangerous understaffing’ that puts both mothers and babies at risk. Launching a new campaign this week to count babies as a separate patient to their parent, which would bring Tasmania in line with other states […]
‘We don’t have enough midwives’: Australia’s midwifery workforce in crisis, report finds
Australia’s midwifery workforce is ‘in crisis’ with not enough midwives or students to meet future needs, a new report has warned. Released in Canberra today, the Midwifery Futures report, commissioned by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA), exposes widespread local staffing shortfalls, especially in non-metropolitan areas, which would have ‘catastrophic impact’ if the […]
ANMF calls for urgent action to address birth trauma in Australia
The ANMF has called for the urgent implementation of all 43 recommendations from the NSW Select Committee on Birth Trauma report.
Midwives in prime position to help pregnant women give up alcohol, research says
Midwives are well-positioned to help support pregnant women to stop or cut down on alcohol and other drug use and to improve outcomes for themselves and their children, according to researchers. A new South Australian initiative is examining the role midwives can play in promoting key public health messages and supporting abstinence during pregnancy. The […]
Privately practising midwives rally against potential restrictions to scope of practice
After more than two decades in the public health system, midwife Di Longworth ventured into private practice, offering midwifery services, including homebirths, to her local community.
Inside South Australia’s new virtual care service for women with symptoms of early pregnancy loss
Women in South Australia who are showing signs of early pregnancy loss can now conveniently access vital midwifery-led care and support through video consultations from the comfort and privacy of their own homes. The new virtual Women’s Assessment Service, run by the Women’s and Children’s Health Network (WCHN), enables women across the state experiencing symptoms […]
Count the babies win: Queensland to introduce midwifery ratios
After years of campaigning by the Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union (QNMU) to have babies counted as separate patients on postnatal maternity wards, the state government has committed to introducing landmark minimum midwife-to-patient ratios across public hospitals. According to QNMU Secretary Kate Veach, under existing federal law, Queensland babies have not been counted as additional […]