FAQ with a Private Midwife
Welcome to another blog post! This blog serves to answer your most frequently asked questions related to all aspects of care with a Private Midwife and I hope this blog post aims to highlight the role and abilities of Private Midwives.
Private Midwives are registered, highly skilled practitioners whose roles are to provide women with pregnancy (antenatal), birth & postpartum care. Private Midwives (also known as Endorsed Midwives) have completed additional study to equip them with knowledge and ability to provide care as autonomous practitioners, order pathology, ultrasound and medication for women and their baby’s, and as a registered practitioner provide referral and access Medicare services & rebates.
There is estimated to be just over 1400 Endorsed Midwives in Australia (*as of 2025) and whilst numbers of Private Midwives are growing, care from a Private Midwif still remain a somewhat niche service.
Thus, for this next blog post I thought I’d answer some frequently asked questions (FAQ) that I commonly get asked as an Endorsed Midwife.
So without further ado, Welcome to FAQ with a Private Midwife!
Which areas does Private Midwife Mum, Babe & Meg service?
Mum, Babe & Meg provides antenatal, birth and postnatal care packages, pregnancy bodywork, feeding & lactation and education sessions to women and families in Central West NSW & Hilltops regions, including; Young, Cowra, Canowindra, Forbes, Parkes, Orange & surrounds. Meg provides all care at your home, and support in hospital as desired/indicated.
Living rurally herself, Meg believes that access to quality healthcare services should not be limited by where we choose to call home.
I have a high risk pregnancy or missed out/was deemed “ineligible” for a hospital-based midwife program, can I have a Private Midwife?
YES! Private Midwives can provide care for all women and there is no eligibility criteria when seeking our services. We welcome all women irrespective of your health or pregnancy history, or current pregnancy experience. As a registered practitioner, Meg will provide you with pregnancy care within her scope & ability as a Private Midwife, and may make recommendations or referral for women to be cared for my other practitioners based on risk factors. In these instances, Meg will then continue to work in partnership and collaborate with other practitioners to promote safety and meet your pregnancy needs.
I’m having an elective caesarean or planning to give birth in a hospital, can I also have a Private Midwife?
YES! Care from a Private Midwife spans from early pregnancy until 8 weeks post the birth of your baby, and the entire experience of pregnancy and early postpartum is important (not just the birth!). Endorsed Midwives can provide pregnancy care for all women and for women choosing to have birth care in a hospital Private Midwives can provide antenatal and postnatal care, then emotional, doula-like support when receiving care from a hospital service. Private Midwives stay by your side through your entire pregnancy experience.
Who will I recieve care from and who do you work with?
Behind Mum, Babe & Meg is physically - ME! Meg - an Endorsed Midwife and all services are provided by me. Whilst I (Meg) physically work as a sole practitioner, in creating this service I have been really intentional to create a network to support me professionally, which in term ensures safe care for the women and families I care for.
This network includes other Private Midwives (shout out to Salt & Clay Midwifery, Orange Birth Collective & the Private Midwives of our local community & Australia-wide who I am lucky enough to be connected with) in the form of case reviews, reflection and revision, care planning and consultation to ensure my care and recommendations to women are evidence-based and holistic, and physical training together to develop clinical skill and teamwork. The network then extends to Medical Practitioners (GP’s, Obstetricians), IBCLC’s, allied health practitioners, diabetic educators and Internal Pelvic Release practitioner (shout-out to Hilltops Women’s Health) to name a few practitioners who I consult with and refer women to, to ensure their care is holistic and appropriate to meet their needs.
Further, Private Midwives are bound by legislative and insurance requirements to consult & refer with other practitioners to meet women’s healthcare needs.
How much does it cost to have care with a Private Midwife?
All prices can be found on the services page of our website . For women with a Medicare card, you will be eligible to a Medicare rebate for services provided by Mum, Babe & Meg and some services (including pregnancy bodywork and birth debriefing) are currently available as a bulk-billed service.
For further fee & billing enquiries, please contact Meg directly by completing a contact form.
Can I have a homebirth with Mum, Babe & Meg?
As of time of this post (July 2025), Mum, Babe & Meg is not currently providing homebirth services. Meg is currently supporting other midwives who provide homebirth services and is very willing to provide recommendations and contacts for women who would like to explore this as an option for their care.
When homebirth becomes an option for women receiving care with Mum, Babe & Meg, you will be the first to know.
I don’t know if Private Midwifery care is right for me, what should I do?
Mum, Babe & Meg offers FREE “Meet & Greet” appointments where women and families can book a time (in-person or virtually) to meet with Meg, ask questions and have a taster of what care from a Private Midwife is like. This free, no-obligation appointment is a great way to help decide is care with a Private Midwife suits your needs, goals and desires for pregnancy, birth and postnatal stages.
Choosing a model of care for your pregnancy, birth and postnatal experience is demonstrated by research to impact your emotional experiences and overall satisfaction with pregnancy, brith & postnatal experience. If you are unsure what care provider is best suited to you, I would encourage women and their families to consider;
What are your values, beliefs and goals for pregnancy, birth and postpartum?
Reflect on past experiences and consider what aspects of care you have received previously that you enjoyed, or what aspects you didn’t enjoy? What made your experience good? Or how could our experience be improved?
As a Private Midwife, I (Meg) believe that pregnancy, birth and postpartum is a physiological event; a normal human experience, rather than a medical event. My role as a Midwife is to support you through this experience by offering care that considers you and your baby’s physical, social and emotional wellbeing, and provide care to enhance your experience to make pregnancy, birth and postpartum a healthy experience. I also believe (and am reaffirmed that this is true by research) that women’s experiences of pregnancy, birth and postpartum are enhanced physically and emotionally when women receive care by a known midwife.
If you feel the same way I do, or are curious to experience care with a Private Midwife for yourself, book a free “Meet & Greet” here .
Thank you for engaging with another blog post. If you have further questions, my inbox is always open!
With all my midwifery love,
Mum, Babe & Meg