Join us for our fifth series of ‘Working With Women Who… Birth by Caesarean Birth; where we'll cover a range of topics including Birth and Postnatal Planning, Physio and Pelvic Floor, Mental Health, Continuity of Care, Consumer Experiences, Breastfeeding and VBAC Preparation.
Formal Planning for Caesarean- Dr Zoe Bradfield
Dr Zoe Bradfield is a Senior Midwifery Research Fellow with a joint appointment between Curtin University and Women and Newborn Health Service in Perth Western Australia; she also holds an honorary appointment with the Burnet Institute in Melbourne. Zoe has more than 25 years' clinical and leadership experience working in rural and metropolitan health settings. Her research explores the intersection between health systems and a range of outcomes for women, their babies and families as well as health professionals, with the aim of improving the impact and quality of perinatal care. Zoe is passionate about the power of midwifery-led, multidisciplinary research to both deliver evidence and transform healthcare culture and service. Zoe is also the current Vice President of the Australian College of Midwives.
The Pelvic Flaw: The often neglected importance of pelvic floor training before and after ceasareans - Mischa Bongers
APA Titled Women's, Men's & Pelvic Health Physiotherapist
Mischa is passionate about all things women's health, particularly improved healthcare access in the perinatal period and for women with persistent pelvic pain and prolapse. After completing her Masters in Continence & Women's Health Physiotherapy, Mischa established her physiotherapy clinic, Pelvic Fix Physiotherapy, to help raise public awareness and improve patient access to quality pelvic health physiotherapy care in her local Central Queensland community of Yeppoon, Rockhampton and surrounds.
When not collaborating and kicking goals with her Pelvic Fix Physiotherapy team members and clients, Mischa speaks at community events on the importance of good pelvic health habits, teaches into the Women's & Men's Health unit for the local university's physiotherapy program, and supervises clinical placements for physiotherapists completing further studies in Continence & Women's Health.
Best practice wound care and postpartum self care - Leonie Rastas
Leonie Rastas is known for her C-section recovery advocacy and support. She is a nurse, midwife, author, educator and founding director of ‘Caesarcare’, an online service business helping educate women in post-C-section recovery. She survived six caesarean births herself including one with birth trauma and PTSD. She has worked with thousands of C-section mothers during her forty years in clinical practice. Leonie also taught in the Bachelor of midwifery program for ten years at Australian Catholic University and Charles Sturt University. In 2010 the Australian College of Nursing admitted Leonie as a Fellow in recognition of her service to holistic healthcare by establishing a holistic health promotion charity in 2005. In 2022 Leonie launched a book she co-authored with a Midwife from the UK titled ‘C-section Recovery Manual-Your Body Your Recovery’. In addition, Leonie has designed a variety of medical aids, and her TGA approved wound splint was on the shortlist for the Innovation award at the Australian Healthcare Week Sydney in 2019. Leonie has a passion for working with women to enhance healing and flourishing in the postpartum especially after unexpected outcomes.
My Postnatal Support Plan - Lisa White
Lisa White works at Blacktown and Mount Druitt Hospitals as the Clinical Midwifery Consultant for Infant Feeding and loves supporting women and their families in the antenatal and postnatal period, as well as providing support and education for staff in relation to breastfeeding and postnatal care. Lisa believes in empowering and encouraging women and their support people to seek as much information as they can from evidence based sources. She has been an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) since 2000 and is a Registered Midwife, Nurse and qualified Child and Family Health Nurse. Lisa recently completed a Masters of Nursing specialising in Clinical leadership at Western Sydney University. Lisa is one of Western Sydney Regional Coordinators of Lactation Consultants of Australia and New Zealand (LCANZ), secretary for the NSW BFHI Reference Group and a member of ACM. Lisa is currently involved in the MAP project with Western Sydney University looking at postnatal care at Blacktown Hospital.
IV Fluids in Caesereans - Belle Bruce
Belle (Belinda) is an Australian Registered Nurse Midwife currently completing her PhD with the Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Sydney. Belle has qualifications in midwifery, nursing and paramedicine, and has over 15 years clinical experience in a variety of hospital and community settings. Belle’s research explores the administration of intravenous fluids to women in labour, applying knowledge from her emergency, trauma and critical care experience to examine this contemporary clinical practice. Belle has a passion for research, education, patient safety and the implementation of evidenced based care.
MAC, PAC and Theatre Environment - Dr Minke Burke
Dr Minke Burke is an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and ultrasound specialist and works in Sydney at the Royal Hospital for Women and at Prince of Wales Private Hospital. At The Royal Hospital for Women Minke has many different roles and one is a weekly caesarean list where she teaches trainees how to perform caesarean births. She has a special interest in making a caesarean birth more positive and woman focussed. In 2014 Minke established Sydney’s first all-female group obstetric practice (Alana Healthcare) where she and 3 other obstetricians provide pregnancy care which is evidence based, holistic and again woman focussed
Learning from women: Identifying important outcomes for vasa praevia - Dr Nasrin Javid
Dr Nasrin Javid is a Clinical Research Midwifery Consultant who has worked as a midwife for more than 25 years across clinical and research setting. She has a passion for translational research to improve outcomes for women and their babies and has a particular interest in antenatal care, equity, and reproductive genomics.
Nasrin is an enthusiastic Early Career Researcher who has managed several national and bi-national research projects on different pregnancy conditions. She holds an honorary affiliate position at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), and the Faculty of Medicine and Health, the University of Sydney.
Midwifery Continuity of Care - Helen Grace
Helen graduated as a registered midwife in 2017.
She has since worked in a variety of settings and models of care including rural hospitals, midwifery group practice and private home birth setting.
She is currently working as a RM in a tertiary referral hospital in Queensland.
She has a passion for midwifery continuity of care especially when women are undergoing a caesarean section.
VBAC Preparation - Hazel Keedle
Dr Hazel Keedle, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer of Midwifery at The School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University. Hazel has more than two decades of experience as a clinician in nursing and midwifery, educator and researcher. Hazel’s research interests are vaginal birth after caesarean, birth trauma and maternity experiences explored primarily using feminist mixed methodologies. Hazel's work is recognised nationally and internationally, with many invited conference and seminar presentations including academic publications and a book for women based on her PhD findings ‘Birth after Caesarean: Your Journey to a Better Birth’. Hazel is the lead researcher on the largest maternity experiences survey, The Birth Experience Study.
Caesarean section choice and challenges for women and their mental health - Dr Heather Mattner
Heather is a Perinatal Health Psychologist with particular expertise in perinatal psychological trauma and PTSD, and a Midwife with an extensive background in maternal/infant health care, midwifery practice, research and education, curriculum development and review, accreditation, models of practice development and review, perinatal Aboriginal health and wellbeing and primary health care.
Heather has worked and lived in urban, regional, rural and remote settings across Australia and in New Guinea, Nepal and Swaziland holding university, government, non-government, private sector and project roles in maternity health care/midwifery/perinatal mental health.
Heather has an extensive track record of publications and is working on a new book about perinatal PTSD, perinatal trauma and obstetric violence.
Heather is currently working with Alecia Staines and Bashi Kumar-Hazard presenting Respectful Maternity Care training workshops nationally for maternity health care professionals as well as ongoing public speaking/consultancy regarding perinatal psychology/obstetric violence.
Pain Management - Sandra Coupar
Sandra is a RN/Midwife, currently working as an agency Midwife in Melbourne CBD and Regional Victoria.
Sandra is passionate about supporting and empowering women and their families in the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal period.
Sandra has over 40 years clinical and leadership experience in a variety of hospital and community settings. As well as multiple roles from case load team midwifery, education, risk management and promoting patient safety.
Best Practice Use of Fetal Pillow - Peter Dawes
Experienced in business development and a history of working in the medical industry. Skilled in Negotiation, Budgeting, Business Planning, Sales Management, and health education. High School graduate regional NSW with a Diploma marketing on Gold Coast QLD.
It has been a wonderful experience since 2013 managing the introduction and use of the Fetal Pillow as a safer choice for difficult Caesarean Births within Australia and New Zealand. Knowing the Fetal Pillow device has saved babies lives and reduced harm to mother and baby during these difficult deliveries.
Read about the NICE Guidance for the Fetal Pillow here and learn more here.