Midwifery in Eden

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Acuneedling in early labour is when I have seen almost an instant response in the body everytime. Most noticeably in the...
08/06/2026

Acuneedling in early labour is when I have seen almost an instant response in the body everytime. Most noticeably in the pattern and intensity of the contractions. Some of these points you can use acupressure on instead, if you do not have access to someone who can needle.

What is acuneedling (acupuncture) doing?

The points I use in early labour are working on:

🪷 Improving blood flow to reproductive organs
🪷 Improving the positioning of baby
🪷 Softening the cervix
🪷 Strengthing those contractions
🪷 Calming the nervous system
🪷 Replenishing energy

Rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the practice views the body as an interconnected energy system. This includes Qi, meridians, balances and blockages.

Western medical researchers suggest that acupuncture points are strategic anatomical locations used to stimulate nerves, muscles, and connective tissue.

Midwives can undertake additional training to provide this service to women.

"You rode a bicycle here at 4am!?"The dedication of all second midwives is to be commended. No matter the transport issu...
26/05/2026

"You rode a bicycle here at 4am!?"

The dedication of all second midwives is to be commended. No matter the transport issue, no matter the obscure driveways, no matter the 4 metre python they chase off the dark forest road (yes I did that once), no matter the creek crossings... all usually done with a level of urgency that a baby is to be born soon... your second midwife is coming! And I love seeing their smiley fresh face enter the room.




Tokology 1883, Alice Stockholm. I expected the advice to be very out dated and thought I would laugh a fair bit, I was q...
19/05/2026

Tokology 1883, Alice Stockholm. I expected the advice to be very out dated and thought I would laugh a fair bit, I was quite wrong.
Alice writes ahead of her time in the western world. She writes truths that even 143 years later people are still ignoring in maternity care!

She promotes hands off the perineum during birth as she as found there is no benefit.
She discourages directing women to push when they are not ready and warns this causes "accidents".
She knew cutting the cord after it stops pulsating improved the conditions for the baby.

It's 2026 and I still watch midwives cut a cord full of blood because it's been "3 mins" and apparently that's "good enough".
Hands are all over the perineum at birth, and women are told to push when their body has no desire to, hence leading to prolonged pushing, fatigue of mother and sometimes the baby.

Obviously there are funny things written in this book, which you may read on some of the pages I have included in my post images. But at the time this was truly groundbreaking for women, and the author has my respect.

Thankyou Alice for being the 5th woman in the US to become a Doctor and possibly one of the first practitioners in the western world to write about some important issues women were facing. I wish I could talk to you now in 2026, we would have rich conversations.

Thanks to my Nana for passing down this book to me.




It's International Day of the Midwife. I have always been happy when working as a Midwife. I haven’t experienced burnout...
04/05/2026

It's International Day of the Midwife. I have always been happy when working as a Midwife. I haven’t experienced burnout, and have never thought of leaving my job as a Midwife.

I am quite the enigma.

What has protected me? What has supported me?

* The roles I chose as a Midwife. I chose to work in continuity of carer roles where I know the women I care for throughout the entire journey and do not meet them in labour. I avoided shift work. I chose to work in a rural hospital for the first 5 years of my career. Now I work in private practice.

* Being on call all of my midwifery career. Yes it's protective! I never set alarms, I sleep until I wake up most mornings, I am home for breakfast and dinner more than 90% of days and sometimes lunch as well. There is a maximum of 2-4 days a month that may have "inconvenient hours" and that's when women birth.

* My family. All of the above was possible because my family was prepared to move anywhere in the country that I would get a job in a continuity of care model. I my opinion, smaller, rural hospitals are more protective of midwifery than bigger hospitals. My husband didn't mind me leaving my generous, guaranteed fortnightly income, for an unknown expected income in a new private practice.

* Not being EVERYTHING for women. I don't want any woman to feel like they couldn’t do it without me. I aim to promote responsibility and autonomy with confidence in women. This not only empowers women but helps immensely with my work.

It is by intention I am the happy Midwife STILL. It is a blessing I have had the support I needed in that intention.




When care with a Midwife or other maternity care provider becomes "provider centric". The influence, personal bias and p...
17/04/2026

When care with a Midwife or other maternity care provider becomes "provider centric". The influence, personal bias and preferences of the care provider are constantly trying to steer a womans choices to align with their personal ideology and opinion.

Often we talk about the influence care providers have promoting interventions, but less light get shined on the opposite. When care providers are trying to influence women to decline interventions. This can be pain relief options, induction of labour, cesarean section, ultrasounds, blood tests, vaccinations, vitamin K etc.

I understand and am outraged at the over use of many interventions that are leading to poorer outcomes, especially long term outcomes, and birth trauma. And I am outraged at coercion and lack of informed consent regarding these. Do not misunderstand what I am trying to say.
I am encouraging us as Midwives, as care providers, as women, to also remember that the coercion and influence can be from both ends of the spectrum.

We have a responsibility as care providers to check ourselves regularly in regards to how we provide information. Every one of us has bias, and it's being aware of this that helps us separate it from our care and keep the woman at the centre.

We are here to meet women where they are, explore options, explore reasons behind choices, but ultimately respect that the womans decision is authoritative. We are not here to lead them down "our" paths.

Some women describe that they didn't want to ask for pain relief in fear the Midwife would think differently of them, let them down. What is this?!

Midwives are WITH WOMAN. Thats the derivative of the word Midwife.




Where does a Queen feel like a Queen the most? It's where she has dominion. At a homebirth, a woman strongly feels her s...
11/04/2026

Where does a Queen feel like a Queen the most? It's where she has dominion. At a homebirth, a woman strongly feels her sovereignty. She has invited me into her realm. The woman can request from me what I am able to provide and I can offer her counselling from the knowledge I have in my craft as a Midwife.

Her decision is final.

I am humbly present.






(Photo shared with consent)

Behind this Great Midwife is a Great Nurse husband who is always backing me, encouraging me, supporting me. So I dressed...
30/03/2026

Behind this Great Midwife is a Great Nurse husband who is always backing me, encouraging me, supporting me. So I dressed up to be wife of the boss at his work gala, but then again he is also the husband of a boss too.



Midwives need AFFIRMATIONS. In a world full of wonderful pregnancy and birth affirmations for women I decided to make so...
25/01/2026

Midwives need AFFIRMATIONS. In a world full of wonderful pregnancy and birth affirmations for women I decided to make some for midwives. And not surprisingly the themes are similar, trust, fear, past experiences, acknowledgement, hope, and support. (Please add any other wonderful affirmations you think midwives need in the comments below).

I have said this before, for midwives to be WITH women, midwives need to be WITH midwives.

This is not the only time in history midwives have been challenged to practice true midwifery and support women. It is unfortunately constant. We can easily be flattened to the floor in despair at times.

I refuse to stay down and will lift up whoever is around me.

YOU ARE A GREAT MIDWIFE. These affirmations are for you! (Or for your midwife 😉).




24/12/2025

One of the most famous birth stories is celebrated today. An everyday woman birthing a change to the story, to history. Whether you believe it to be a story or history, it has changed the world non the less.
When we birth, the world changes, one person at a time. It's the change in us as mothers, its the precious one placed in our womb that brings a new story into our world.
Merry Christmas.

A sun halo! How blessed to have this in our skies today Cairns. I have never seen one before, has anyone else?A sun halo...
15/12/2025

A sun halo! How blessed to have this in our skies today Cairns. I have never seen one before, has anyone else?

A sun halo is caused by sunlight refracting (bending) through tiny, six-sided ice crystals in high-altitude cirrus clouds, acting like prisms to create a halo, sometimes with faint rainbow colors.

Spiritually it is associated with divinity, heaven touching Earth.



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