Home Birthing South West

Midwives providing continuity of care

Angela Jordan

I trained as a midwife in Kent, SE England in 1982. I am married with two children. Both my children were born in England, my daughter in a cottage maternity hospital and my son at home. Before emigrating to Australia I spent 5 years as a community midwife providing a holistic service to the women and their families in the Medway towns, Kent. As a community midwife I was able to support women with their choices to either birth in hospital, or at home but at least with a known midwife.

I emigrated to Australia in 1991 and have been working at a regional hospital as a midwife. Over the past 15 years there have been many changes to the service in the SW, but women were rarely exposed to a midwife as a lead care giver who provided continuity of care throughout pregnancy, labour and birth. I visited NZ in 2004 with a friend ,and colleague, and was in awe of the service they provided for women. Women in NZ have a strong voice now but they had to fight for their rights. Eventually they changed the maternity services for the women. It was following this visit that I decided to find a way to support women with their rights to have a home birth. Susan and I decided to work together to facilitate home births for women in the SW along with Julie and Pete who were also practicing as independent homebirth midwives.

What a journey it has been. I have been privileged to be with women and their families in their own home environment and watch women utilise their stength and power to birth without intervention, disruption or fear. They have challenged themselves, believed in themselves and been at one with their body, how incredible they are. My dream is that in time the 'free' maternity service to birth at home that some women have in Perth will be available in the SW. Women can be a force to be reckoned with; they need to have a voice and let the powers that be know exactly what they want.

Susan Krachler

My name is Susan and I have been a midwife for 12 years. I first became interested in midwifery with the birth of my own children.

I sought an independent midwife with my three pregnancies. I was able to build a special relationship with my midwife which gave me the confidence and peace of mind to birth my babies. 2 of my children were born at home.

When my youngest was 5, I did my midwifery training, and I have not looked back. I am constantly learning as a midwife, and I am always amazed how women rise to the occasion, unleased their power and birth their babies their own way. The sense of achievement is indescribable, their faces tell the story and I know in my heart that this woman will easily make the transition to being a Mum. A happy Mum contributes to a happy family and this is got to be good for the world.

With every homebirth that I have the privilege to be present at, there is a constant reminder that the traditional maternity units have got it wrong. There has become a realisation for me that home birth assists greatly with uninterrupted bonding with your child immediately after birth, and these children are very calm and peaceful.

I am happy to be able to offer you the same choice of a home birth that was available to me in the South West 20 years ago. It is worth considering that we are the only mammals that make our nest at home and go elsewhere to have our babies.