Local midwife Tracey Barnden has been appointed Maternity Unit Manager for Lachlan Health Service, which looks after mums across Forbes and Parkes.
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Ms Barnden has worked as a midwife for 12 years now, and she's just as passionate about the role as ever.
"You never get used to it, every birth is special," she says. "The privilege of being someone's midwife is incredible."
March marked the beginning of the new models of maternity care across the health service, but at this point all birthing is still occurring at Forbes.
While there's no date yet on a return of birthing to Parkes Hospital, Ms Barnden says work is going on behind the scenes and recruitment of additional staff is the issue.
"The groundwork is happening, it's still our number one priority," she said.
The models of care that are now operational across Forbes and Parkes are:
Midwifery Group Practice, for low-risk women, where the mid-wife is the lead carer throughout pregnancy and birth and you see a doctor when needed. This is the model that will see birthing for some women return to Parkes Hospital.
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Midwifery ante-natal and post-natal program (MAPP), where care is shared between the midwives and a local GP or specialist obstetrician.
The core midwifery team is based in Forbes, where all birthing is still taking place.
About 15 midwives work across the service, and we have two midwifery students (already Registered Nurses) as well. Ms Barden is a believer that training staff locally will help retain staff in the long-term.
The group has been through a lot of changes in the past two years, since birthing was stopped at Parkes due to a lack of specialists, but Ms Barnden says the team "has pulled together beautifully".
"We are a lot further forward than we were two years ago," she said.
She feels strongly that maternity, and midwifery, are increasingly woman-centred with more choice for mums.
The team is already seeing that the continuity of care throughout pregnancy, and the support at home for up to six weeks after birth, is having good outcomes.
"Mums don't have to worry about getting to the clinic for a certain time, they know we will come to them, and they're more likely to open up in their own home where they're comfortable," Ms Barnden says.
She says midwives are there to provide reassurance before and after birth, to talk through what's normal when breastfeeding or bringing home a new baby, just to name a few.
They also know you well enough to recognise what's not normal, and to provide support or make a referral if it's needed.
"Our goals are to increase breastfeed, to decrease the risk of postnatal depression and decrease birth trauma," Ms Barnden says.
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