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Ep 101 (http://ibit.ly/Re5V) Deborah Davis on navigating hospitals, home births, and academic journeys 

@PhDMidwives #research #midwifery  #education @unicanberra #ACTHealth #homebirth #VIDM @world_midwives 

research link - t.ly/mOzQh

Deborah Davis takes us on a captivating journey through her remarkable career evolution from cardiothoracic intensive care nurse to home birth midwife to academic leader. Her story reveals the profound shift in mindset required when moving from high-tech medical environments to relationship-based midwifery care.

Deborah speaks candidly about her early fascination with home birth, sparked during travels through Southeast Asia where she hearing stories of birth happening naturally in community settings. This perspective led her to pursue midwifery and then an apprenticeship in home birth practice, eventually practicing for 15 years across Australia and New Zealand. She describes the stark differences between these countries in how midwifery was positioned within the healthcare system, with New Zealand offering a more integrated approach where midwives were respected as autonomous practitioners.

The conversation delves into Deborah's academic awakening and her doctoral research examining how midwives promote and protect normal birth in hospital environments that "scream medical." Her findings revealed the complex strategies midwives develop to support physiological birth within institutional settings, and how even home birth practices are influenced by hospital policies. This research exemplifies how midwifery is inherently political, requiring constant advocacy at multiple levels.

We explore the challenges of balancing academia, clinical work and single parenthood, including Deborah's practical approach to completing her PhD over eight years by establishing a rigid evening study routine. Her reflections on maintaining wellbeing through community connections outside midwifery offer valuable insights for anyone balancing professional demands with personal life.

Deborah's current work focuses on improving care for women with gestational diabetes, inspired by one woman's powerful statement that "diabetes stole her pregnancy." This research aims to create models of care that maintain the woman at the center of her experience rather than reducing her to a medical diagnosis. As chair of the Scientific Program Committee for the upcoming International Confederation of Midwives conference, she's also helping shape global midwifery conversations.

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