Midwives across NSW are being celebrated and recognised for the essential role they play in supporting the health and wellbeing of women, babies, and families, on International Day of the Midwife.
In a media release, the NSW government said, ‘Midwives provide personalised, compassionate and high-quality care, supporting women throughout their pregnancy, birth and postnatal journey to make decisions about their care that meets their unique needs and desired health outcomes’.
‘From regional and remote communities, to metropolitan health services, midwives like Michelle Brinckman, are helping to strengthen maternity care and enhance the experience of women, babies and families every day.
Michelle, Maternity Unit Manager of the Maternity and Neonatal Service at Tweed Valley Hospital, is a fourth-generation midwife whose family has supported women through pregnancy and childbirth for over a century.
‘Following in the footsteps of her grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great grandmother, Michelle has more than 28 years of midwifery experience and has worked across hospitals in both Queensland and NSW.
‘This year’s International Day of the Midwife theme, One Million More Midwives, highlights the importance of strengthening the midwifery workforce to help deliver safe, effective and collaborative maternity care.
‘The Minns Labor Government is continuing to deliver enhanced maternity services across the state including:
• 10 new and or expanded Midwifery Group Practices since 2024,
• $44.3 million investment to increase access to midwifery continuity of care, including an additional 53 FTE midwives in regional NSW
• the establishment of a Chief Midwife role to provide leadership and clinical expertise across the system, and
• the rollout of Safe Staffing Levels in dedicated postnatal wards.
‘These initiatives are part of a broader commitment to improving access to high-quality, midwifery continuity of care models across NSW.
‘These expanded services build on the work the Minns Government is doing to rebuild a supported and engaged health workforce by:
• Abolishing the Liberals’ health worker wages ; freeze
• Delivering the largest pay increase for nurses and midwives in more than two decades and the largest pay rise ever for the lowest paid nurses and midwives in NSW;
• Increasing night shift pay for midwives and nurses;
• Saving 1,112 nurses which the Liberal Government planned to sack; and
• Supporting our future health workforce with study subsidies’.
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