Women and families in the Maitland and Hunter Valley region are now able to access public home birth services with a new pilot program at Maitland Hospital.
The public home birthing service operates as part of the Maitland Midwifery Group Practice (MGP), offering planned home birth for eligible low-risk women.
Women accessing MGP services receive continuity of care from a known primary midwife in consultation with a multidisciplinary team, throughout their pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period ensuring they receive high-quality, individualised maternity care.
Maitland Hospital has developed the new home birth pilot program in close collaboration with the Women's Health and Maternity (WHAM) Network and following extensive consultation with the community to ensure it is safe, sustainable and meets the needs of the community.
The model of care is in line with the NSW Health Guideline for Public Homebirth Services and will have strict oversight and eligibility criteria requirements governed by Hunter New England Local Health District, including:
- Defined governance, escalation, and transfer arrangements
- Workforce capability requirements and credentialing
- Equipment, medication, and safety standards
- Clear clinical accountability and monitoring processes.
The model has been embedded within the existing MGP service. The pilot program is part of the Minns Labor Government's commitment to increasing access to midwifery continuity of care models across the state, which was supported by a $44.8 million investment into maternity care in the 2025-26 NSW Budget which includes funding for an additional 53 FTE midwives in regional NSW.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Regional Health Ryan Park:
"The establishment of a publicly funded home birth pilot program at Maitland Hospital provides women in Maitland and across the Hunter with more choice about where and how they give birth."
"We know how important it is for women to feel safe, respected and supported during pregnancy and birth.
"This is why we are supporting midwifery continuity of care models that empower families, and deliver outstanding outcomes for women and their babies."
Quotes attributable to Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley:
"This new public home birth pilot at Maitland Hospital is about giving local women and families in the Hunter more choice, while ensuring the highest standards of safety and care.
"Families across our region deserve access to modern, compassionate maternity services close to home, and this program is another example of the Minns Labor Government delivering for the Hunter.
"By expanding midwifery continuity of care and supporting safe home birth options for eligible women, we are putting women's voices, experiences and wellbeing at the centre of maternity care."
Quotes attributable to Member for Maitland Jenny Aitchison:
"Women deserve to give birth in the place where they feel most safe, supported and comfortable. For many, that place is their home.
"This new public home birth program will give women across Maitland and the Hunter region greater choice, allowing them to have the births they want and deserve.
"The service is part of a broader effort to expand access to midwifery continuity of care across the state and home birth services is a vital part of that model. It's about empowering women, supporting families, and ensuring mothers and babies receive compassionate, high-quality care at one of the most significant times in their lives."
Quotes attributable to Hunter New England Local Health District, Executive Director of Operations, Susan Heyman:
"We've developed this new home birth pilot program in collaboration with our Women's Health and Maternity (WHAM) Network to give women another safe and supported way to give birth.
"The pilot proposes a safe, evidence based, and controlled approach to planned home birth for low risk women, delivered by experienced midwives and embedded within the public hospital system with defined escalation pathways to Maitland Hospital."
