Culturally safe midwives to birth First Nations babies at Shoalhaven Hospital

Age-old traditions removed during colonisation given new life. Emma Ardler's 10-week-old baby Iluka is one of the first to come into the world under a landmark Birthing on Country Model. Emma Ardler - "Its women's business -so feeling secure and having people around you that care that nurture you protect you and your family." The Waminda organisation's new model of care allows Aboriginal women to have their own private midwife available in a public hospital. Something Kathleen Smith appreciated during labour and the birth of her daughter Dianah. Kathleen Smith - We are doing things the way that we should have been for a long time and opportunities that were taken away from us are being given back and that's really empowering our women in their birthing journey. Up until now, insurance conditions prevented private midwives working in public hospitals, leaving many Aboriginal women without cultural support and safety. Emma Ardler - They would change up there shifts and someone new would come in and id have to retell my story. Tahlia Avolio is privately employed by Waminda and has birthed the very first babies at Shoalhaven Hospital under the model. Tahlia Avolio – “It's relieving for women to know they will have their midwife present at their birth because they know what to expect they know that their space is going to be super safe and they're able to birth the way they choose.” After 40 years of activism... Waminda will now start building the nation's first Aboriginal-owned and midwifery-led birth centre on this site next year. Melanie Briggs - The whole centre in itself is sacred, and it is ceremony we had to make sure that we didn't have white walls and that the spaces were free for our women to talk into and have a baby wherever they needed to have a baby. Culture, ceremony and care being reborn for a new generation.