Caitlin Gard Midwife

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Australia
Cairns, QLD
Caitlin Gard Midwife

Privately practicing midwife in Adelaide. Supporting mothers to heal and thrive postpartum. Offering homebirth and shared care.

09/11/2026

In an age where homebirth continues to be endangered through changes outside of our control it is important to keep having these conversations.

Insurance was hard fought for.
Initially it was presented as a low risk only product.

There was huge public effort behind fighting that and they eventually acquiesced and rescinded the low risk requirement.
But on the back end they attached a different disaster; all midwives attending homebirths must be insured (as of jan 1st).

But some midwives with decades of experience can't access that insurance product.
So what we are seeing now is birth being pushed back into the hospital via another avenue.

Another thing many are fighting for?
Fully medicare funded homebirth through private midwives.

I agree, it sounds fabulous.
How lovely it would be to meet prospective clients and not have to see their face fall when we discuss payment.

But the thought that we will keep operating with the autonomy we currently have (which is already restricted) while being funded by the government... is that realistic?
If we can't even access an insurance product without our livelihoods, and your choices, being threatened?

There is obviously nuance in this.
Regulation has an important role in community safety, I wouldn't want to be operated on by someone who hasn't been rigourously trained and assessed.

Though I also wouldnt want to receive substandard care because my care provider is following a policy rather than best practice.

And I would rather try and creatively manage a difficult financial ask than face my birth of choice becomng illegal because of part of my medical history.

I don't know what the answer is.

We should never stop advocating for better birth options.
Complacency is not an option.
But there also feels like there's a bit of 'be careful what you wish for' in everything we achieve.

09/11/2026

Put the date in your diaries!!

We're gathering for homebirth.
And we're fighting for birth choices.

Adelaide location to be confirmed on council approval.
Cairns are meeting on the esplanade.

06/11/2026

What should you be cooking in the first six weeks?

Nothing.

Everyone else should be cooking for you.

Meal trains, frozen meals, nesting parties...
Some of the best, and most practical, things to gift new mothers.

Be the village.

05/11/2026

Essentials for postpartum food...

Warm
Cooked
Good quality fats
Easily digested.

Kitchari is my absolute favourite and is my current go to for breakfast.
As well as one of my favourites to cook for postpartum clients.

03/11/2026

She couldn't remember the name 'episiotomy' but she described it pretty well.

Births and postpartum experiences that happened over fifty years ago still evoke such a response.

Because it's not just one day or six weeks.
A healthy baby isn't all that matters.
You don't just get over it and things go back to normal.

Which is why we're all banging on about preparation and not just going with the flow.

Be invested in your care.
Invest in your care.

Because you will still be thinking about it in fifty years time and it would be beautiful if you smiled instead of cried 🩷

01/11/2026

Homebirth is once again under threat in Australia.

The introduction of an insurance product for private midwives attending homebirths was hard fought for. However it also came with legislation that midwives attending homebirths must be insured.
Up until now the second attending midwife (a legal requirement) has been able to operate under an exemption. This meant that the second midwife did not need to be endorsed or insured.

This is a necessity in regional and rural areas where there may only be one endorsed midwife for hundreds of km's. These families have already been hugely affected by closure of birthing facilities and are now also going to lose another model of care.

Families in metro areas will also find homebirth accessibility reduced as midwives will now need to decrease the amount of women they care for in order to be able to attend as a second midwife for others in their area.

The government's solution thus fas has been that midwives should just get endorsed in order to continue to attend homebirths as a second. Or that midwives should just direct families in their care back to the hospital.

Why is it not that simple for midwives to just go get endorsed?
It requires further study and 5000 hours of clinical practice in the last 6 years. There are midwives who have been practicing for years and years who don't meet the 5000 hour rule because they don't work full time or have had periods of maternity leave.

And currently the cheapest insurance product is $2500 per year. So for midwives who attended just a few births a year, they are essentially doing it for free.

And once you commit to commencing insurance you are locked in for at least 3 years. To cease your insurance cover you are required to pay 3 years of 'run off cover'. Seeing the obstacles?
It's the only company offering homebirth insurance btw so you can't even shop around.

What are we fighting for?

A functional insurance option to ensure homebirth in Australia remains accessible and safe for women and midwives.

This isn't just about homebirth.
This is about the erosion of women's birthing choices.

Insurance should enable care, not restrict it!!

01/11/2026

The Held Mother has been years in the making.

It's the culmination of everything I've witnessed as a midwife, everything I've learnt about women's health, and everything I've experienced in my own transition through motherhood.

I don't believe postpartum care should be reduced to a few clinical checks before women are left to navigate the rest on their own.

There is so much more to postpartum than simply making sure a mother and baby are surviving.

The Held Mother is my way of offering the kind of care I believe women should have access to.

Care that recognises the enormous physical, emotional and spiritual transition of postpartum, and gives women the time, nourishment and support to move through it.

#

28/10/2026

The Held Mother 🤎

8 visits. 6 weeks. 2 hours each.

Comprehensive postpartum midwifery care that centres the mother, without forgetting the baby.

Combining clinical midwifery care, traditional postpartum practices, nourishment and practical support, all in the comfort of your own home.

Available to families across Adelaide.

Bookings are open, and my DMs are always open if you'd like to chat about whether this care is right for you.

26/10/2026

For every mother.

First time, second time, third time.
Supported, unsupported.
Clinical care, traditional care.

The Held Mother is for all women who want to be cared for and nourished postpartum.
Who want to heal and thrive, not just survive.

Available to Adelaide mothers.

Link in bio for more info and enquiries.

I'm taking bookings now and only have capacity for limited numbers.

22/10/2026

Must be divine intervention 🫠

Address

Cairns, QLD

Website

http://caitlingard.com/

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