At midwifeonline.com.au, they recognise the need for quality, realistic childbirth education, understanding that the pregnancy journey and welcoming your new baby into the world are some of the most important, nerve-wrecking and magical times of your life. Their team is passionate about educating women and providing all the tools and resources required for a woman’s transition into parenthood. They have created a set of fun yet realistic online and face-to-face classes for new parents, keeping the groups small to optimise contact with the midwife, and empowering families through knowledge. Here, founder Laura Millar talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the inspiration behind midwifeonline.com.au, the challenges she has overcome, and her hopes and dreams for the future.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
I have been a midwife for over 10 years both in New Zealand and in Australia. The journey to parenthood for families can be filled with anxiety and uncertainty, particularly with the amount of misinformation that is out there. A woman’s experience during childbirth has a major lifelong impact. It ultimately affects their level of enjoyment and ability to embrace parenthood. It was my vast experience working on labour wards when I first noticed women were not aware of all their options, and the importance of achieving the type of birth that they wanted. Bringing a baby into this world shouldn’t be filled with anxiety and fear, so I designed my classes to empower women to take back their birthing journey and to get excited about their journey into parenthood, simply by empowering women with knowledge!
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
I was doing face-to-face classes at one of the bigger local hospitals, and then Covid-19 caused all face-to-face classes to be suspended. Most classes have been permanently suspended and replaced with online videos. I believe the psychological preparation for childbirth is just as important as the physical preparation for childbirth and the online videos struggle to give women the tools to prepare for birth both psychologically and physically. This is where midwifeonline.com.au was born! I started out with a single real-time class for some of my own clients and now we have over 5 different classes for women to choose from.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
Our face-to-face classes! I discovered along the way that some families want to have practical hands on experiences during a class. Although we cover things like nappy changing and winding your new baby during our online classes, actually practising it in class has been a great discussion point during our face-to-face class.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
I have been a midwife whilst raising all my children. They are very understanding of the extra time that I have to put into research and ensuring I am up-to-date with all the latest trends. I am so thankful that my family is just as enthusiastic about providing quality education as I am! In fact, the support and encouragement that they give me is so valuable it has become a family endeavour!
