Today on Tess Talks, I’m joined by Kelli Zakharoff — midwife, author, educator and one of Australia’s most outspoken voices challenging the modern maternity system. After decades working across public hospitals, private practice, alongside obstetricians, and as a home-birth midwife, Kelli has seen both the beauty and the deep fractures within birth care.

Her book The Midwife Crisis: From Trust to Trauma exposes the emotional toll placed on midwives, the systemic failures impacting women and babies, and the realities no one wants to say out loud. This conversation goes beyond birth stories — it questions power, autonomy, trauma, and who our maternity system is really serving.

In this episode:

• Why midwives feel “muzzled” and unable to speak openly within the system
• The emotional, physical and psychological toll of being a midwife
• Home birth vs hospital birth — autonomy, safety and evidence
• Caesarean rates, medicalisation and risk-driven maternity care
• Birth trauma and the rise of obstetric violence
• What really happened at the end of Kelli’s midwifery career
• The lack of support for healthcare workers after traumatic events
• COVID’s impact on maternity wards and frontline staff
• Why continuity of care matters more than most women realise
• The myths — and realities — around home birthing
• Empowerment, choice, and reclaiming trust in birth
• What midwives actually need to survive in the system
• Why telling these stories is the first step toward change

This episode will challenge what you think you know about birth, hospitals, and the people entrusted with bringing life into the world. It’s essential listening for women, parents, healthcare workers — and anyone who believes women deserve to be heard.

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Read Kelli's Book: midwifecrisis.com.au

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