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.
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.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health, Ryan Park:
"International Day of the Midwife is an important opportunity to recognise and thank midwives for the compassionate and exceptional care they provide to NSW families each and every day.
"Midwives are at the heart of safe, respectful maternity care, supporting women and families through one of the most important moments of their lives.
"Michelle's story as a fourth-generation midwife is a powerful reminder of the lasting impact and deep connections midwives build within their communities.
"I'm exceptionally proud of the incredible work of midwives in our services, making a difference in the lives of women, babies and their families every day."
Quotes attributable to NSW Chief Midwife, Donna Garland:
"The level of care and expertise midwives provide every day truly makes a difference to the wellbeing and experience of women and babies across all clinical and community settings.
"International Day of the Midwife is a reminder of how midwives across NSW are continually transforming care through innovation, education and research to meet the changing needs of women, families and communities.
"Midwives provide expert care and reassurance for families across NSW throughout their maternity journey."
Quotes attributable to Maternity Unit Manager -Tweed Valley Hospital, Michelle Brinckman:
"It is a very rewarding career. We're there for one of the biggest moments in a person's life, often when they're at their most vulnerable.
"I still have women come up to me in supermarkets and say they remember me. This is the moment I know I have made a difference, it's truly humbling."
