Midwife, māmā and founder of Village Birth Aotearoa, Candice Kovacs-Milner, is on a mission to transform the way whānau experience antenatal education. After noticing that much of the advice available to parents was either overly medicalised or influenced by commercial interests, she set out to create something empowering, accessible and evidence-based. What began as a simple Instagram account after the birth of her first baby has blossomed into a thriving resource hub for parents, offering antenatal education, free online courses, birth equipment hire services and a community grounded in trust and support. Here she talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the passion behind what she does and her hopes and dreams for the future.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
As a midwife and a māmā, I know there is a huge gap in terms of available antenatal education – there are heaps of recommendations out there based solely on capitalist ideologies and worshipping of the medical system. I wanted to create something that was accessible, evidence based but also empowering for every māmā. Every person has the power to be the author of their own story and I truly believe that is what creates positive experiences.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
I just started an Instagram account after I had my first baby! I started sharing some birth pictures, infographics and little snippets of information I felt needed to be shared.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
I released my free online Antenatal Course in March 2025. This enabled families to work through my online course at their own pace and receive antenatal info from someone who knows the field well. People seemed to really love this and I have been getting enquiries non-stop ever since!
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
I am an on-call midwife by trade, so a lot of my time is spent out at night, catching babies! I do love it, but I find I need to pencil in regular time off, events, holidays and fun outings with my beautiful family to keep them at the centre. I am a keen tramper, camper, musician and gardener.
