Australian Midwives

by Paula Heelan

Like Beth McCrae’s bestselling Outback Midwife , these real-life stories come from Australian midwives working in the outback, where they share their experiences of that most commonplace but miraculous event, the birth of a child.Sweet, funny and sometimes sad, these stories share what it is to be an Australian midwife in remote areas where resources are limited. A moving and celebratory collection of tales that brings you close to the drama and wonder of birth.Each of the thirteen midwives in this book work in extreme locations with few resources, but armed with only courage and skill, they regularly save lives and birth babies in difficult circumstances —on an airstrip, a cattle station, a dinghy (knee-deep in water with a wary eye out for the local croc), a troop-carrier or in the face of a cyclone. These stories are a tribute to both the skill of the midwives and the courage of the mothers. For these women, midwifery is not just a job - it’s a committed and passionate way of life.

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2016

Reviews

[Ann-maree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Beth McCraes bestselling Outback Midwife, these real-life stories come from Australian midwives working in the outback, where they share their experiences of that most commonplace but miraculous event, the birth of a child.
Sweet, funny and sometimes sad, these stories share what it is to be an Australian midwife in remote areas where resources are limited. A moving and celebratory collection of tales that brings you close to the drama and wonder of birth. Each of the thirteen midwives in this book work in extreme locations with few resources, but armed with only courage and skill, they regularly save lives and birth babies in difficult circumstances —on an airstrip, a cattle station, a dinghy (knee-deep in water with a wary eye out for the local croc), a troop-carrier or in the face of a cyclone.
These stories are a tribute to both the skill of the midwives and the courage of the mothers.  For these women, midwifery is not just a job - its a committed and passionate way of life.

[Katy Whiteman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible collection of stories from a group of Australian nurses/midwives working in mostly rural and remote communities. Unique insight into remote healthcare and access in communities in the outback. A healthy dose of healthcare humour, coupled with the harsh reality of working in traumatic situations. The author does well to provide insight into medical terms for non-healthcare readers, highly recommended for all!

[Wendy Kendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the experiences of these wonderful midwives very interesting. As I love the outback I have a deep interest in how these services are activated & what is involved in this process. The responses of the aboriginal women in this setting was often heart warming.

[Kirstin Mccallum · Rating 4 out of 5]

True stories short stories of Australian midwives. Mostly based in remote areas of Australia.
offers insight into the hardships of outback Australia and the need for trained medical professionals.
Some sad but mostly happy stories.
A good read. Easy to put down and pick up again as there are 14 different stories.

[Heidi Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an easy read and I enjoyed it however it did get rather repetitive after a while. But I guess that is the nature of this type of book and to be expected when all of the subjects work in a similar occupation. Good for a rainy day read.

[Tanya · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be perfectly honest, I struggled a bit with reading this novel. I expected to be reading a book filled with birth stories (both happy and sad), but instead it's more a book of brief biographies of women who just happen to be midwives with a few birthing anecdotes thrown in. To that extent, as the book progressed the stories tend to blend into each other.

I finished it and parts were enjoyable, but for me it was a rather average read and hasn't made me want to check out the authors other works.