Cara McDonald Midwifery

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Leura, NSW
Cara McDonald Midwifery

Cara is a Registered Endorsed Midwife in private practice in the Blue Mountains and Western Sydney

05/08/2025

It’s World Breastfeeding Week! Until yesterday I believed that I didn’t have any photos of myself breastfeeding. I have a special knack for not having my photo taken. It’s a gift. Also smart phones were just not a thing during most of my breastfeeding years because I am OLD! So anyway, I asked the family archivist last night and he delved into the vault and found this. It is the only picture in existence. I am assuming one of the kids took it as we’re both in it (trust me, I cropped him out) 😆
Some people love breastfeeding their babies.
I am not one of them.
I didn’t hate it, I just didn’t love it and that’s ok. I worked hard when my first was a newbie at getting it going as for a number of reasons it wasn’t straightforward at first. I’m really proud of myself for getting through that and endlessly grateful to a particular midwife for not giving up on me even when I was a mess. If not for her, I would not have gone on to breastfeed all four of my babies.
Just like birth, the support around you as you begin your feeding journey is crucial.
**************
PS My partner would like it on the record that the lack of photos of me is not due to his failing to take them.
PPS I would like to say that you don’t have to be in photos if you don’t want to. Why is everyone obsessed with photos?

17/02/2025

Shout out to this generous mama who gave permission for me to share these snaps of her and her babies as they begin their tandem feeding journey 🩵🩷
There is clearly an art to juggling the demands of one baby cluster feeding, while the other learns to share, but it can also be a beautiful bonding experience.
All that said - how you feed your babies is up to you and if weaning your toddler feels right, follow your heart.
For more info on tandem feeding, start with ABA

11/02/2025

Occasionally I am asked how many births I have attended. In all honesty I’ve no idea. What do know is that I’ve been supporting pregnant and birthing women as a doula and then as a midwife for around 18 years now.
Sometime in the last year I realised that I passed a milestone in my private midwifery practice that was 100 babies born at home. I feel like that’s a number worth celebrating.

How fitting that it was this one - normally behind the camera! Congratulations Beth! What a warrior woman you are ###

And what a stunning picture that just perfectly encapsulates this birth: women supporting women. What a capture by 👏👏👏

10/02/2025

The calm in this set of photos very much belies the fast and furious labour that came before them. But women, as ever, do very hard things and then smile.

Welcome, little one

Photos very generously shared with the permission of the family ❤️

14/01/2025

Cleaning up today and stopped to take a moment to reflect on 5 full years in private practice.
Each of these diaries represents a full calendar year of births, first visits, final visits, catch ups with colleagues, education days, to do lists, important notes and random scribblings.
I’m so grateful for this work.
Listen, I like a bit of tech as much as the next person, but I am a paper diary kind of human at my core and the ordering of a new diary at the end of the year is a specific kind of joy.
IYKYK 😉

01/11/2024

It’s time to celebrate - this is probably the biggest week for midwifery in Australia since Medicare for midwives was introduced in 2010! Not only have we finally been able to cast off the burden of collaborative arrangements, but today the Commonwealth Dept of Health announced that they will be dropping “low risk” terminology from the bill which will enable them to underwrite Professional Indemnity Insurance for midwives attending Homebirths. This means midwives will finally be insured by the end of 2026 with no additional restrictions regarding the women we can serve. Yes, this is amazing but, will I be holding back a little bit until it’s signed into law? Also yes. Even so, thanks to the hard work of and , tonight we can all rejoice.

31/10/2024

It has been a while since I’ve posted, I’m aware. But I’m here to share some exciting news that as of this Friday, 1 November, the requirement for midwives to have a collaborative arrangement has been removed from federal legislation. In real terms this means you no longer need to get a referral from a doctor to access private midwifery care. So after you wee on a stick (or discover you are pregnant any other way), all you need to do is give me a call 📞 and we can start your pregnancy journey then and there ❤️

06/06/2024

It’s International Homebirth Day so it’s time for a quick history lesson:
Way back in 2009, I strapped my baby to my back and headed out to make my voice heard to ensure women could choose to have a midwife to support them to birth at home (Thanks for the trip down memory lane). The issue on the table then was that an insurance product for midwives was found but didn’t include homebirth. Under the law, health professionals cannot practice without insurance. A last minute reprieve was given when an exemption to the law was granted for midwives attending Homebirths. They could practice without insurance.
This exemption has been extended over and over since then and the current extension expires on 30/6/2025. The federal government has announced they will underwrite an insurance product for homebirth commencing 1/7/2025. Huzzah! BUT ….the govt has said that this will cover “low risk” women planning a homebirth.

What does this mean? Good question, I’m glad you asked. There is no universally accepted definition of what constitutes “low risk” and at this stage there is no detail about what the policy may involve and how this might impact women who do not fall within the parameters of “low risk” and who gets to make that distinction. “Low risk” almost certainly doesn’t include VBAC, women over 40, women with higher BMI, women with diabetes or women with previous complex births. Of the utmost importance is that the right to decide where a woman gives birth and with whom is retained by the woman herself. This is presently not guaranteed.

What can you do? At the moment there is a lot that we don’t know as the details have not been finalized, but you can stay abreast of the issue by following and and have your say when they ask.

04/06/2024

First moments✨
After a long night she was born quickly on her parent’s bed.
Just breathtaking ❤️

📸 by Aunty Rebecca

Shared with permission and gratitude 🙏

05/05/2024

A big thank you to all the midwives in my life! Those who come to births with me, answer my phone calls and talk things through, fill the birth pool in the background while I sit with women, welcome me with open arms into the hospitals they work in when we need them and most importantly offer words of encouragement, support and love right when they are needed.
Happy International Midwives Day ❤️

04/05/2024

It is so culturally ingrained in our society that birth takes place inside the walls of a hospital that taking a different path sometimes requires a bit of deprogramming of oneself and a dash of courage. Courage to follow the mountain of evidence that Homebirth is safe rather than the dominant narrative that it’s not.

Welcome little one 💕

📸 by
*Shared with permission.*

Address

Leura, NSW

Telephone

+61421210072

Website

http://midwifecara.com.au/

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Why choose a Private Midwife?

Care from a known midwife throughout pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period has been shown in peer reviewed research to improve outcomes for women and babies time and again, with less intervention and greater satisfaction. Although more and more public hospitals are starting to offer women one-to-one midwifery care, places are limited and ultimately these only cater to a very small percentage of women.

Hiring a private midwife means you get to CHOOSE your care provider, not have one allocated to you. It means forming a relationship with your midwife throughout the course of your pregnancy. Hiring a private midwife means that when you have a question or worry during your pregnancy, you know who to call first. Hiring a private midwife means your midwife will be with you as you give birth and will continue to provide care for you and your baby up to 6 weeks after the birth.

Hiring a private midwife means your care is in your hands, in your own home, on your terms.

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