Personalised, Professional Care

On behalf of South Australian Privately Practising Midwives, we welcome you!

On this site you’ll find everything you need to support you on your childbirth journey. Along with our Midwife Directory, you’ll find useful descriptions and definitions of all services offered by our midwives, answers to Frequently Asked Questions, links to other useful information/services, and a blog delivering in-depth articles on a range of relevant topics.

Perhaps you’re wondering what a privately practising midwife is. Let’s begin there, shall we?

A privately practising midwife (PPM) is a midwife who works outside of a hospital, usually in your own home, providing a range of services including pregnancy (antenatal), birth and postnatal care. The foundation of private midwife-led care is continuity of care.This means you have the same midwife who you get to know throughout your pregnancy, birth and postnatally. Having a known midwife has been well researched as the ‘gold standard’ of evidence-based care. This means it has been shown to have better outcomes for mother and baby.

Privately practising midwives may also be known as:

• Independent midwife
• Endorsed midwife
• Medicare endorsed midwife
• Private homebirth midwife
• Hospital-credentialed midwife

Benefits of care when using a private midwife include:

• Appointments are held in your own home
• Time to discuss your needs and feelings in your environment at a convenient time for you and your family
• Pregnancy care from conception to 6 weeks postnatal, including ordering blood tests, scans and medication
• Antenatal care at home to support your birth choices in hospital
• Homebirth including water birth option
• Option for birth support in hospital
• Continuity of care with a known midwife is the proven ‘gold standard’ of maternity care
• Supplement public hospital postnatal care which usually includes only a few home visits
• Supplement private hospital postnatal care which usually finishes the first or second visit after discharge
• Some Medicare rebates may apply. This varies from midwife to midwife