Event Details

This policy brief presents findings from new national research mapping the role and scope of the Australian midwifery workforce in acute early pregnancy care. While midwives are recognised experts in providing pregnancy care, women experiencing unexpected complications before 20 weeks’ gestation—including miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, or hyperemesis gravidarum—are frequently managed in non-maternity settings where midwives are not employed. Women have reported that these environments, and particularly emergency departments, do not meet their clinical and emotional needs.

Women consistently report wanting timely, private, sensitive, and expert pregnancy care, along with clear information and follow-up. Midwives are uniquely positioned to provide this holistic, relationship-based care; however, systems-level barriers restrict their involvement. These include workforce models that exclude midwives from early pregnancy services, limited understanding of midwifery scope, and gaps in education and clinical preparation of midwives.

The brief calls for structural reform to enable midwives to work to full scope across the entirety of pregnancy, including when women experience early pregnancy complications and loss. It highlights the importance of supporting continuity of midwifery care from confirmation of pregnancy, strengthening midwifery leadership, embedding comprehensive education, and optimising Early Pregnancy Assessment Service (EPAS) models nationally.