May_xoxo

I'm a traditional midwife looking to move to Australia. Where I'm from the term midwife doesn't have the same meaning in does in Australia or the UK. We aren't technically considered healthcare workers, we work outside the field. We use holistic practices to help women through labor, particularly home births.

My question is are traditional midwives a thing in Australia? I'm worried about the legal aspect as well as the social aspect. When I search for home births in Australia not much comes up. So I'm assuming it's not really thought for the majority of pregnant Australian women. Where I'm from it's becoming more and more popular to opt for a home birth instead of going to the hospital. Will I will even be able to find work there?

okonumiyaki

Not so much - 97% of births are at hospital, only 0.3% at home. The rest are at 'birthing centres' (clinics)

According to here:

https://www.health.gov.au/health-top...s/in-australia

there are 6,500 midwives here, and 29,000 dual qualified nurses/ midwives. Midwives are very much considered healthcare workers, need a 3 year degree etc.

Process to check if you can transfer your qualifications to Australia is here:

https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.go...you-apply.aspx

Kiwikaye

I'm not a midwife or nurse, but you may have more luck if you try searching for the term 'doula'
you may have already done this though.

rammygirl

Doulas are definitely a thing here. They are welcomed in most hospitals but cannot perform or advise on medical issues. With home births a qualified midwife would also be present along with the doula. Unfortunately anyone can call themselves a doula as it isn’t fully recognised as a profession here. Good doulas with lots of experience are sought after though. The cost isn’t covered by Medicare or private insurance so usually only wealthier patients can afford one.

spouse of scouse

Thanks to you two I've learned something new today, I'd never even heard of the term doula. A bit embarrassing really, considering I've had three children!

quoll

Have you got a visa? Not likely that your occupation is going to give you one unless you are a degreed nurse. Not too many home births in Australia - the insurance for midwives is eye watering and it only takes a few bad episodes for the insurance to go up and the number of home births to go down. No idea about the indemnity insurance for doulas but I doubt there's much call for a doula really.

okonumiyaki

Best route is probably to apply for a nursing degree in Australia, graduate and work as a nurse until you have PR, then become a doula