Melanie The Midwife

Melanie The Midwife Midwife in Private practice, Host of the Great Birth Rebellion Podcast, Midwifery Mentor and Research

Melanie lives in the Blue Mountains with her Husband and two children and has been a midwife in private practice, and providing homebirth services, since 2009. She has a passion for providing minimal intervention care and has respect for the physiological process of pregnancy, birth and the early postnatal period. Melanie loves to see the powerful process of birth unfold and watch families blossom

as pregnancy and birth unfolds. Her passion for midwifery led her to complete her PhD, called "birth outside the system", in 2015, and she has held positions in midwifery research, midwifery lecturing and National Policy development at the Australian College of Midwives along side her work as a midwife. Melanie has a degree in Naturopathy and incorporates alternative therapies and nutritional guidance into her midwifery care.

In Michel Odents’ birth utopia he envisaged authentic midwives caring for all women and authentic obstetricians making t...
29/09/2025

In Michel Odents’ birth utopia he envisaged authentic midwives caring for all women and authentic obstetricians making themselves available to women and midwives on an ‘as needed’ basis if/when the clinical situation required it

Michel saw that obstetricians were becoming under skilled in dealing with complexity and emergency because they spent too long trying to monopolise the care of all pregnant and birthing women instead of focusing on authentic obstetric skills.

Get the full story podcast ep. 166 Ode to Odent.

I’m exploring the hierarchy of power within medicalised maternity care as I explore the idea of ‘medical gate keeping’ for an upcoming podcast episode and book chapter. Watch this space

28/09/2025

Who will you have with you in labour? Imagine you've prepared for a 100km marathon and your support crew yells out things like 'it's too hard!, give up!'. Compare that to, 'you can keep going! I believe in you!'.

Support people and care providers can sabotage your mental game in labour just by the words they say and their belief (or lack-thereof) that you have the capacity to do labour without pain relief. Listen to todays episode of the great birth rebellion podcast, ep 170 for all the tips on strenghtening your mental game during labour and getting to the end without pain medication - if this is what you're planning

27/09/2025

Epidural for breech and twin births... get the full story on ep 169 podcast where I explained a stack of epidural research. If you are planning your birth (epidural or not) this episode is for you

Hear me out. Maternity care SYSTEMS are different to a hospital and they are different to care providers. When you hear ...
26/09/2025

Hear me out. Maternity care SYSTEMS are different to a hospital and they are different to care providers. When you hear me being critical of the maternity care system DON’T hear that I’m critical of hospital birth or hospital based staff. Hospitals and staff are not the root of the problem in modern maternity care systems. It’s deeper than that.

A system is a process or established way of caring for women, not a location or a particular person.

I am critical of systems of care that are industrialised, standardised and inconsiderate of women’s experiences and individual needs.

The maternity care system is not set up based on evidence of best outcomes or the desires of women. The audacity.

Ps: I am interested in what you think but only if you say it nicely ✌️

26/09/2025

The rest and be thankful stage. Rule one of labour care: never wake a sleeping mother. Get the full story ep. 151 podcast

24/09/2025

Your baby is fully crowning and you're feeling the stretch. Now it's time to let your baby out millimetre by millimetre. I've got something that might help you. Full story podcast ep. 167 Pushing out your baby

24/09/2025

People have called this 'the best conference I have ever attended'... there is a reason for that, the speaker line up is just ONE of them. It's time to get your ticket now at melaniethemidwife.com

23/09/2025

Does the epidural medication reach and affect the baby.... yes. definitely.
Full story and research papers podcast ep. 169

Screeeeeeeeeech … ah! The sound of the Doppler moving through water does nothing to maintain the serenity of the birth s...
23/09/2025

Screeeeeeeeeech … ah! The sound of the Doppler moving through water does nothing to maintain the serenity of the birth space.

Pro tip:
- you don’t need gel
- put the Doppler on first then turn it on
- turn it off before removing it

Follow me for more waterbirth tips 😆

22/09/2025

Someone has to say it... epidurals are GREAT at reducing/removing pain from labour, but the payoff is that your physiology is interrupted 100% of the time. I'm not against epidurals, but they do impact the function of your body. Get the full story ep. 169

22/09/2025

Epidurals have their place and purpose... BUT when women get one-to-one care and support during labour, fewer epidurals are used... you could conclude that one of the purposes of epidurals is to plug the holes in the maternity care system.

To fully understand epidurals and their role in your labour and birth - full story ep. 169 podcast, 'The Epidural'.

20/09/2025

I have thrown at least 3 newly purchased books at the wall this week. I’m bothered.

Watch this space for a guide to a great pregnancy and a guide to a great birth. I just can even with these mainstream maternity books.

Address

101 Great Western Highway, Sun Valley NSW
Springwood, NSW
2777

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
Saturday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

0425 280 682

Website

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