Speaker Information
Sara Wickham RM PhD MA BA(Hons)
Sara has
practised midwifery in a variety of settings in
the UK and USA and has also held posts in
midwifery research and education. Sara
currently works as an independent midwifery
lecturer and consultant; she is involved in
midwifery and birth-related projects around
the world and many of these relate to her
interest in midwives’ knowledge and ways of
knowing and the means by which we can
increase our ability to support women in
decision-making. Sara is the author of over
100 birth-related articles and has written
and edited a number of books, including
Anti-D in Midwifery: Panacea or Paradox? and
Sacred Cycles: The spiral of women's wellbeing.
She is co-director of withwoman.co.uk.
Carol Bartle
Carol has a nursing, midwifery and
lactation consultant background and has
worked in hospitals and the community for
over thirty-six years. Carol is on the New
Zealand National Breastfeeding Committee
and the board of consultants for La Leche
League New Zealand. She has a post
graduate diploma in Child Advocacy and a
Masters of Health Sciences from the
University of Otago. Carol’s thesis explores
mothers’ experiences of breastfeeding in a
neonatal intensive care environment.
Currently Carol is working as the coordinator
of the Canterbury Breastfeeding Advocacy
Service which is a Ministry of Health contract
managed by Te Puawaitanga Ki Otautahi
Trust. Te Puawaitanga is a Maori health
community provider working with mothers,
babies, children and whanau.
Terri Allen Woods CD(DONA)
Founder of
Blessed ChildBirth and Doula Services, Terri
is a birth and postpartum doula, and a
childbirth educator in Paso Robles,
California, USA. She recently spent almost a
year volunteering at the Mercy In Action
Birth Center in Puerto Galera, Oriental
Mindoro, Philippines, which provides free
pregnancy, birth, and postpartum services to
poor women and families.
Nathan Mikaere Wallis
Nathan's current role is
lecturer at Canterbury University's College of
Education, School of Human Development
and Educational Studies. Nathan is a father
with a background in teaching, child
counselling, and educational management.
Nathan is a Presenter for Brainwave and a
trainer for Child Protection Studies. He also
works within his own consultancy called 'X
Factor Education' and is a current board
member of The Champion Centre, NZ Nurture
Network and Brainwave.
Deena Robinson
Deena has practiced as a self-employed
rural homebirth midwife on the
West Coast since Dec 2006 when she
completed direct entry midwifery education.
Deena’s home is a hive of activity as,
although her two eldest sons (Kaeli & Jayden) attend Canterbury University, the
household is still bursting at the seams with
partner (Luke), daughter (Kelsey), sons
(Tyler, Brogan & Cody), a dog, three cats,
two cockatiels, twenty-three chickens, four
ducks, one frog, one weka and a continuous
stream of visitors.
Sheryl Joy Christian
Sheryl lives on the West Coast
inland from Greymouth at the Gloriavale
Christian Community, Lake Haupiri. She has
been working with Gloriavale women in childbearing and birth for 30 years, has four
children of her own (homebirthed) and 8
grandchildren. She believes birth is a normal
part of life and the family plays a big role in
supporting the mother through pregnancy,
childbirth and nurturing children.
Kate Henderson
Kate, a midwife, speaks of her experience during the birth of her daughter Maia Paige (2 years). Kate faced some of the common fears that many homebirthing women experience: a long, hard, and painful labour eventually resulting in transfer to the hospital. Despite these challenges, Maia's birth story is one of endurance, pride, and empowerment—all the components that homebirthing mothers will be able to relate to as well.
Emily Innes
Emily is the mother of Mika (8), Tui
(nearly 2), "Horace" (lost to miscarriage), and
Maia, who was stillborn at home in July
2006. Maia died at term, four days before
she was born, and Emily will speak of her
experience of birthing Maia at home in Lower
Hutt as planned, with the wonderful support
of midwife Suzanne Miller (of Birthworks) and
partner Brent. Welcoming and farewelling
their baby in their own home, in the way
they chose, was an empowering and
beautiful experience, and has made Emily an
even truer believer in the power and miracle
of homebirth.
Nadia Kersel
Nadia is a Samoan woman, mother, sister, and grand-daughter. Her husband is Pakeha, of Scottish and Danish descent and he hails from the Manawatu. They have one son, Axel Kahikatea Vaopunimatagi Kersel. Nadia birthed their first child, a son Axel at home in 2007. This story involves premature rupture of waters, a power cut and a birth attendance team that included everyone from the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker… Axel’s birth story is one of faith and of learning one of life’s most daunting, and fulfilling truths – that all fear can be overcome with faith.
Jacqui Anderson RGON RM MMid
Jacqui is a self– employed midwife and antenatal educator working with homebirthing women. She also works in midwifery education and is currently a midwifery lecturer and co-Head of School of Midwifery at Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, New Zealand. Jacqui is midwifery representative on the New Zealand Perinatal and Maternal Mortality Review Committee. In 2006 she completed research on the outcomes for women who planned to birth at home with her midwifery practice, some of the results of which will be presented at conference.
Juliet Thorpe
Juliet has been working full time as a home birth midwife in Christchurch for 16 years. She completed her Masters Degree in 2005 which explored the midwifery collegial relationship in her home birth practice. She is passionate about supporting women to birth at home.
Amanda Viedma-Dodd M.Ost B.AppSci
Amanda is a
New Zealand trained osteopath who works in
a clinic alongside two midwifery groups.
Since graduating she has focused her interest
on osteopathic care during pregnancy as it
can provide gentle, safe and drug free pain
relief and prepare the mother for her
upcoming labour. Amanda was introduced to
homebirth by her big sisters and has been
fortunate to bear witness the birth of two
nephews. Amanda credits her homebirth
midwife for empowering her to birth her
daughter naturally. Amanda’s personal
experience of homebirth fuels her interest
in osteopathic practice where women seek
natural healthcare which promotes a natural,
uncomplicated labour.
Julie Richards
Julie has been working as a
homebirth midwife, in Christchurch, since
1990. She works in a practice with four
supportive midwives and is also a midwifery
lecturer at Christchurch Polytechnic. She and
her partner live with their ten-year-old son
on the Port Hills where they have established
a small organic vineyard. Currently she is
completing her Masters of Midwifery and
have focused her research on midwives
umbilical cord clamping practices.
Ngaere Dawson
Ngaere is presently working as a Project Facilitator for the Business Development Unit at the Canterbury District Health Board. She works with leaders and their teams in the constantly changing and evolving area of health.
Her expertise has drawn strongly from a diverse range of training and management situations. Her background in therapy has allowed her to further develop a distinctive human-centered style of training.
Passion, creativity, honesty, innovation, commitment, enthusiasm and a huge amount of fun have always been part of the personality theory that Ngaere teaches.
Ngaere has had the honour of being intimately involved with the birth of her five grandchildren, including three home births. She is in awe of her daughters’ and son in- laws’ amazing knowledge of birth and child rearing and she loves every day as a mother and nana.
Heather Muriwai
Ko Aotea te waka
Ko Taranaki te maunga
Ko Waingongoro te awa
Ko Tangahoe te iwi
Ko Ngati Tanewai raua Ngati Tupaia nga hapu
Ko Wharepuni te marae
Ko Heather Kimirongo Rangi Muriwai toku ingoa
Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.
Heather is the wife of Tamati, Mama of Ben and Kimiana, and Nani of Te Aonui, Filisi, Tiaho mai rangi and Mikaera- her four beautiful mokopuna who are the lights of her life. She has been practising as a selfemployed Homebirth Midwife since graduating in 1998, and has had the privilege of attending what is now almost 400 homebirths since then. Being part of every pregnancy, birthing, and mothering journey nourishes her, and leaves her with a sense of wonderment of how amazing women and their whanau can be.
Lorna Davies
Lorna is a UK qualified midwife who
has worked in midwifery education for the
last fourteen years. Her particular interests
lie in parent education, breastfeeding,
sustainability midwifery and e-Learning. She
has published numerous articles in midwifery
journals and has contributed chapters to several
midwifery textbooks. She recently edited
The Art and Soul of Midwifery and
Examination of the Newborn and Neonatal
Health. She is married with three children
and is currently a Senior Lecturer in
Midwifery at Christchurch Polytechnic
Institute of Technology in Christchurch. She
carries a small caseload as a self-employed
midwife and is a childbirth educator. She is
also co-director of withwoman.co.uk.
Denise Hynd
Denise is an Australian nurse, midwife and lactation consultant with more than 30 years diverse clinical and teaching experiences in Australia, the UK, Papua New Guinea and now Aotearoa. Most of Denise’s clinical experience in these places was hospital based however she did some homebirths in Perth, and 1 in Singapore plus have 2 booked next December in West Auckland. In Perth Denise was preceptored and briefly worked on the Community Midwifery Program (http://www.cmwa.net.au). The majority of clients on this unique government funded program have natural positive labours, births and early parenting experiences with their midwife and loved ones at home. Denise came to New Zealand expecting to find maternity services led by midwives promoting, protecting and supporting physiological childbirth for healthy women as the norm.
Denise is the mother of a wave jumping windsurfer son who was born by a questionable caesarean section, so she knows the vulnerability of being pregnant for the first time and making difficult decisions which can have long term consequences. Subsequently she became involved in lobbying Australian governments for evidence based options of maternity care such as the ‘Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative’ and before coming across the ditch she stood for federal parliament as a ‘What Women Want’ (www.whatwomenwant.org) party candidate as part of the current push for universal access to midwifery led care in Australia. However all of her experiences and increasing evidence says to Denise that there is need for a social, cultural and practical re-orientation of maternity services consistent with what evidence shows as supportive of physiological childbirth this is why she is promoting implementation of the International MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative (www.imbci.org).
Suzanne Miller
Suzanne is a midwife who has supported both home and hospital- birthing women for nineteen years. She works in a group practice with seven other midwives in the Hutt Valley and Wellington area. She lives with her partner Jim and three children, all born at home, on a ten-acre block of regenerating native bush in the hills above Wellington harbour. Suzanne has recently completed a Master of Midwifery degree at Victoria University.
Angela Worthington
Angela Worthington has a diploma in Journalism and is the current editor of positive birth magazine ‘Tummy Talk’.
Her desire to reach women with the message: ‘Birth can be a gorgeous, enjoyable event as opposed to one anticipated with fear and dread ’, was stirred to life after the homebirth of her second daughter. The first edition of the magazine was born shortly after!
Angela is wife to Ben and a home educating mother to her three daughters (two of whom were beautiful homebirths). She is currently seven months pregnant and looking forward to the chance to experience the wonder of birth once more.
She enjoys the opportunity to speak on the topic of ‘freedom from fear in pregnancy and birth’ as part of the regular antenatal ‘Choices in Childbirth’ classes that Active Birth Taranaki (ABT) hosts. A committee member for seven years Angela loves the social occasion that meeting with the diverse group of women in ABT is and the chance to make a difference in our birthing community.
The topic of fear and how it influences our pregnancy and birth is one that has fascinated Angela and has become an ongoing personal research project. She looks forward to sharing some wisdom she has gleaned from others, books and her own personal journey with the women during this session of conference.
Carla Moore
Carla Moore has a M.A. in Education, however, choosing to be a mother is a very conscious career move for her at the moment.
After a very straight-forward hospital birth with their first child ten years ago, labouring and birthing their second son at home in the pool, was the impetus for her passion for birth to be embraced not feared. After hiring pools out for the next four years for the local home birth group, Carla then developed H2 Oh Baby! inflatable pool kits for labour and birth, to fill the increasing gaps and answer the challenges hiring was presenting.
Two more angels born in the pool at home, and her invovlement with many great women also choosing to use a pool for their birthing process have really shown Carla that birthing consciously and gently with conviction and gentle passion helps families move on to parenting the same way. Sharing some ideas on how this could be done is something Carla loves to do.
Carla is actively involved in Active Birth Taranaki Inc., helps coordinate and lead Choices In Childbirth classes, is a member of Playcentre and school committees and belongs to NZCOM. Carla, Deano and their four children live in and love New Plymouth.