I have been nursing since I was fifteen, starting as a nurse aid. I knew I wanted to be a nurse before I really understood what nurses did. I became a Registered Nurse in my mid twenties, but midwifery is where my heart lies. I became a midwife in my late twenties, training at the Royal Women's Hospital in Brisbane, a year before my husband John and I started our own family. John and I, with our
first baby, left Queensland and settled in New Zealand. We had five more children, three girls and three boys all up! I continued to work casual as a midwife to keep registered whilst raising our children. They are now all employed and independent, the youngest has recently attained her license and own transport. Yeh! This leaves me free to pursue being an independent midwife. I have an interesting birth history, two C-sections, one VBAC, and three homebirths, the last one being a waterbirth. (Yeh again!) I believe homebirth should be an available choice for low risk women, who have good pregnancy care. Giving birth in a safe, familiar, supportive environment, in the space of your choice with knowledgeable, equipped, supportive midwives, (two midwives always at a birth) is a beautiful, empowering life event for all involved. John and I moved back to Queensland in 2006, and settled in the Gympie area. I have worked as a midwife at Gympie Hospital since 2007, which is where I met many of you. Sadly, my husband John passed away after a short illness in 2014. My three youngest children and I moved closer into Gympie and I continued my work at GH. Along with my midwife friend Dawn, we have felt to establish a Home Birth service as an option for the women in Gympie and surrounds. We look forward to offering and achieving beautiful, safe birth experiences and follow-up care. I hope you enjoy this awesome part of the world we live in today. To finish, I've included a photo of some of my favorite flowers.