Dr Vijay Roach

Dr Vijay Roach is an obstetrician and gynaecologist with over 25 years' experience. He is a past President of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and a former Chair of the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges. He is a Clinical Professor University of Sydney and an Adjunct Professor University of Queensland. Vijay has a particular interest in perinatal mental health and is passionate about the importance of kindness and compassion in medical care.

Alongside his Wife Cathie, Dr Roach has channeled this passion into his involvement with The Gidget Foundation, a charity to raise awareness of emotional wellbeing in pregnancy and early parenting.

Professor Susan Walker

Professor Susan Walker  is the Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in the University of Melbourne since 2016 and also the Director of Perinatal Medicine at Mercy Hospital for Women. Her research focuses on improving the detection of fetal growth restriction-the single biggest risk factor for stillbirth. She also co-leads international clinical trials of medications to prevent and treat preeclampsia. Professor Walker's dedication to advancing maternal and fetal health has been recognized with several honors, including being named an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2018 for her distinguished service to obstetrics and gynaecology.

Beyond her clinical and research endeavors, Professor Walker is a passionate educator, teaching at the University of Melbourne and the University of Papua New Guinea.

Professor Walker feels when women with complex histories enter a pregnancy surrounded by uncertainty and fear, or when they encounter complications along the way, it is rarely the experience they hope for- but the most important message is ‘I hear you. I am here for you.’ In listening to women and their families, she feels we can help them make sense of what is happening- and hold the candle in the dark.

She also feels that sometimes aspirations for pregnancy, birth and beyond need to be radically revised, but if we can create a caring and safe space where women are able to absorb new knowledge and participate actively in care, we ensure they have agency over the decisions facing them. It may never be the dream they had hoped for, but we can still create a sacred space of fulfillment and pride. They mothered and birthed with purpose and honour and intensity and tenderness and love. Their future self can hold this sacred truth with what may be contentment,  fulfillment, comfort or joy- and it weaves gold thread through their tapestry of life and experience.

Professor Kari Bø

It is fair to say Professor Kari Bø is passionate about helping us all help women have the best births possible, she has flown all the way from Norway for just three days to be with us today. Professor Bø believes If women experience what they hoped for in birth they are in the best position to be able to continue with the life they had before transitioning to becoming a mother.

Professor Bø is a physiotherapist and exercise scientist, she moved swiftly into completing her PhD early in her career and has published over 350 peer review scientific papers on pelvic floor dysfunction, treatment of incontinence and low back- and pelvic girdle pain, exercise during pregnancy and after childbirth, diastasis recti abdominis, measurement methodology, fitness and women’s health, and travelled the world giving keynote speeches, to a sum of over 360!

Professor Bø’s work has not just informed clinicians, but she has directly informed Norwegian ministers of health and sat on many research councils all around the world. Professor Bø has contributed to the development of Norwegian and international courses in physiotherapy, exercise & fitness science, and clinical research. 

She has been awarded a number of international awards, for her incredible contribution to research and education in pelvic floor dysfunction, including the Mildred Elson Award, the most prestige's international award from the World Confederation of Physiotherapy (WCPT).

Dr Jessica Caudwell-Hall

Dr. Jessica Caudwell-Hall is an experienced obstetrician and gynaecologist based in Penrith, with a special interest in pelvic floor health and birth trauma. She completed a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) with Honours from the University of Sydney in 2007 and became a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (FRANZCOG) in 2017. 

Dr. Caudwell-Hall holds a PhD focused on the imaging and diagnosis of pelvic floor disorders following childbirth. Her research has focussed on the prediction and prevention of pelvic floor injury, in particular the impact of forceps delivery and second stage duration on levator ani avulsion and OASI.

Dr. Caudwell-Hall has private rooms in Penrith and Hunters Hilll, providing evidence-based care across all areas of women's health, from pregnancy to advanced gynaecological procedures. She is committed to empowering women with knowledge and supporting informed birth choices. She also speaks regularly publicly on birth trauma, advocating for respectful and trauma-aware maternity care.

Dr Laura Whitburn

Dr Laura Whitburn began her career as a physiotherapist before transitioning into tertiary level education and research. Dr. Whitburn is a Senior Lecturer in Anatomy at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. She is also the President-Elect of the Australian Society of Psychosocial Obstetrics and Gynaecology (ASPOG).

Understanding and improving the experience of labour pain & intrapartum communication have been the primary focus of Dr Whitburn’s clinical research. She has worked towards better understanding the multidimensional nature of pain during childbirth & how a variety of factors influence a woman’s pain experience. She has explored how effective communication between healthcare providers & birthing people can impact perceptions of pain & psychological safety during labour. Through her research, Dr Whitburn strives to develop best practices that can be implemented clinically to foster more supportive and positive birthing experiences.

Laura believes that when women birth where and how they choose, the experience can become a powerful opportunity to engage with their embodied strength, enhancing their sense of self and ability to navigate future challenges with grounded confidence.

Taryn Hallam

Taryn Hallam is a distinguished pelvic health physiotherapist and the founder of Women's Health Training Associates (WHTA) in Australia. With a passion for advancing women's pelvic health, she has dedicated her career to education, research, and clinical practice.

Taryn has developed and delivered numerous courses focusing on pelvic health, including topics such as stress urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, overactive bladder, exercise in pregnancy, obstetric anal sphincter injury, levator ani avulsion and many more.  Taryn teaches all over Australia and internationally. Taryn’s talent for teaching is undeniable and she has inspired a nation of physiotherapist to move towards specialising  in pelvic health. 

Taryn’s mission has always been to bring sound research to clinicians efficiently and effectively, and has done so by running research updates for pelvic health physiotherapists every year for many years. There are many of us in the room that owe our up to date clinical practice in pelvic health physiotherapy to Taryn.

Joelene Murdoch-Ward

Jo Murdoch-Ward is a pelvic health and musculoskeletal physiotherapist and the director of The Physiotherapy Clinic. She has a Master's degree in Women's Health Medicine and is also a co-founder of Born Ready, a birth course designed to empower women with in-depth knowledge about childbirth and how to prepare their bodies for the experience.

Jo is currently completing a PhD looking at the relationships of pelvic floor distensibility and birth outcomes. She is also currently studying medicine, with the vision to become an OBGYN.

Jo believes women who are well educated about labour and birth, who have put conscious effort into ensuring they work towards the best birth for them, come away from the experience empowered  to take on arguably the most challenging role of their life, motherhood.

Elizabeth Cullen

Elizabeth is a Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner, Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist. She studied a Bachelor of Health Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine at the University of Technology Sydney. Elizabeth is particularly passionate about treating Women’s Health and Fertility and is a strong advocate of shared care and integrative patient management. It was her time living in Cheng Du, China on her hospital placement, where she saw first hand the benefits of integrative medicine combining both Western and Traditional Chinese medicine. This drew her to complete her Masters in Women's Health Medicine at the University of New South Wales.

Elizabeth is the founder of The Dao Health in Sydney, an integrative Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic located in the Sutherland Shire, co-host of Delve podcast and  the founder of the Period Pain and Pins community clinic providing accessible Acupuncture for Pelvic Pain and Endometriosis, the first of it's kind in Australia.

Elizabeth believes that when women feel heard and supported with their birth preferences, this can lay the foundation for a positive birth experience that has the tendency to plant seeds of trust and resilience within their body and their choices. Not only does this create a ripple effect in the community but prepares a mother to enable these qualities as they undergo the process of matrescence.

Dr Natalie Elphinstone

Dr Natalie Elphinstone is a specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist practicing on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia. She completed her medical degree at The University of Melbourne, graduating in 2005. Dr Elphinstone worked at both the Mercy Hospital for Women and the Austin Hospital, then going on to complete her specialist training at Frankston Hospital and Monash Medical Centre.

Dr Elphinstone works privately at The Bays Hospital and is passionate about empowering women and delivering personalised care. Dr Elphinstone is also actively involved in education through her public role at Frankston Hospital.

Dr Elphinstone is also an advocate for women having the option to birth via maternal assisted caesarean section if that's an appropriate choice for them. She has been able to instigate policy and procedure at two private hospitals where she works, and gone on to perform the first Maternal Assisted Caesarean at both of them. She's also been able to help other clinicians from around Australia and the world achieve the same thing, and is currently up to 11 different countries that have had success with their first Maternal Assisted Caesareans after her input.

Beyond her clinical work, Dr. Elphinstone is active on social media, sharing birth stories and insights into obstetric care on her Instagram account @drnatalieelphinstone. She is also an avid paper-crafter, engaging in activities like scrapbooking and card-making, which have led to appearances on television and at conferences.

Dr. Elphinstone's dedication to patient-centered care and her innovative approach to obstetrics have made her a respected figure in her field, committed to enhancing the birthing experience for women and their families.

Dr Annie Marshall

Dr. Annie Marshall is a dedicated General Practitioner with a strong background in women's health and paediatrics. Dr Marshall is affiliated with the Royal Hospital for Women and RPA for the provision of antenatal shared care.

She graduated with Honours from the University of Sydney in 2004 and subsequently obtained a Diploma from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Dr. Marshall completed her General Practice training in rural Western Australia, where she gained extensive experience in a busy practice that included on-call obstetrics and hospital care. During this period, she also earned a Diploma of Child Health through Princess Margaret Hospital.

Currently practicing at Rozelle Total Health in Sydney, Dr. Marshall is known for her compassionate approach and commitment to providing comprehensive care to her patients. Dr Marshall feels that women who are empowered with quality, evidence based information, and who understand they have choice, generally feel more empowered during the birth process. She also believes that women who feel heard and have the opportunity to engage in informed decision making and collaborative care feel more positive about their birth experience.

Dr Marshall is an incredibly respected practitioner in the community providing holistic care to her patients.

Dr Jenny Kruger

Dr Jenny Kruger is a distinguished researcher and clinician specialising in pelvic floor health. She has over 15 years clinical experience in the field of nursing and midwifery. Dr Kruger completed her PhD in 2008 on Pelvic floor muscle function in the Elite Athlete. She serves as a Senior Research Fellow at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland, where she has lead the Pelvic Floor Research Group since 2011. Her work primarily focuses on understanding pelvic floor function and developing innovative solutions for pelvic floor dysfunction.

Dr Kruger’s clinical background as a midwife, and how her interest in birth outcomes and postnatal recovery led her to doing extensive research into pelvic floor function during and after childbirth. Dr Kruger has been instrumental in developing the femfit, a medical device designed to assist women in performing effective pelvic floor exercises. This device offers real-time feedback, enabling users to monitor intra-abdominal pressure and ensure correct pelvic floor muscle engagement.

Dr. Kruger is also the CEO and co-founder of JUNOFEM, a medtech company spun out of the University of Auckland. JUNOFEM aims to make the femfit accessible to women worldwide, providing practical solutions for pelvic floor health.

Beyond her research and entrepreneurial endeavors, Dr. Kruger is passionate about removing the stigma associated with urinary incontinence. She actively engages in public education, emphasising the importance of early intervention and effective pelvic floor training to improve women's quality of life.

Dr. Kruger's commitment to women's health and her innovative contributions to pelvic floor therapy have established her as a leading figure in the field, dedicated to empowering women through education and accessible healthcare solutions.

Professor Deborah Davis

Professor Deborah Davis has been the Clinical Chair in Midwifery with the University of Canberra and ACT Government Health Directorate since 2011. Professor Davis teaches both the undergraduate and postgraduate midwifery programs, mainly focusing on topics related to research. She enjoys supervising Bachelor of Midwifery Honours, Masters and Doctoral research students.

Prior to this role, Professor Davis has worked as a privately practicing midwife in both Australia and New Zealand, providing care to women choosing both home and hospital births. She is active in the profession, serving several terms on the Board of the Australian College of Midwives. Professor Davis is currently co-chairing the Research Standing Committee of the International Confederation of Midwives.

Her research interests focus on promoting wellness in childbearing women, physiological birth and midwifery led care.

Professor Davis feels that women don’t always need to have the experience they hoped for to have a really successful birth and satisfying experience. She feels that if women are part of the decision making process and respected as someone who has autonomy over their own body, they’re more satisfied with the outcome. She also feels that birth can provide them with an unparalleled level of confidence and respect for their own body. Additionally, she thinks that as healthcare professionals, there is much opportunity for highlighting her capacity, her strength, her capability, her cleverness in nurturing and growing her baby so that she feels she did something special and amazing at the end of the day.

Dr Sarah Lyons

Dr. Sarah Lyons is a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists with a special interest in complex pregnancy care. She trained at The Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney and King Edward Memorial Hospital in Perth—both renowned for managing high-risk pregnancies and medical complications.She currently works at The Royal Hospital for Women, having taken a break from private practice to focus on being a mum to her busy 1 year old daughter.

Her areas of expertise include preterm birth prevention (including cervical cerclage), perinatal loss, and managing pregnancies with medical complications. She set up the preterm birth prevention clinic at the Royal in 2021, and currently also runs a diabetes in pregnancy clinic. Dr. Lyons is an adjunct lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at The University of Notre Dame, where she is known for her clear and compassionate teaching. Committed to informed, respectful care, she supports women through all stages of their pregnancy journey.

I feel that when women birth where and how they choose, it makes birth an incredibly powerful and positive experience which can have profound long term effects on a woman's mental health and how she transitions to motherhood. A positive birth experience may improve a woman's confidence in her body's, and minds, ability to do hard things. It may reduce a woman's traumatic feelings about birth and subsequently reduce mental health concerns like postnatal depression. perhaps these women feel less scared or anxious about embarking on pregnancy again.

Heidi Mules

Heidi is a Brisbane-based physiotherapist and advocate for stillbirth awareness. In 2011, she and her husband, Ned, experienced the devastating loss of their daughter, Sophie, who was stillborn. This profound loss has driven Heidi to raise awareness about stillbirth and its prevention.

Heidi actively participates in initiatives aimed at reducing stillbirth rates and supporting affected families. She has shared her personal story in various forums, including podcasts and interviews, to educate the public and healthcare professionals about the risks and realities of stillbirth.

Through her advocacy, Heidi emphasizes the importance of open communication between healthcare providers and expectant parents, as well as the need for comprehensive education on stillbirth prevention.

Heidi feels if women and families are fully educated and supported to understand what the best decisions are for their individual circumstances, they should be more relaxed, confident and accepting even if things don’t go as planned. She also feels that in reality, not all births go to plan, and not everyone can have the experience they hoped for, but if women are enabled to give informed consent, the psychological outcome in the long term is going to be more positive.

Melanie Briggs

Melanie  is a trailblazer who is making a profound difference to the health of Indigenous mothers and babies in her region. Melanie holds a Bachelor of Midwifery degree from the University of Technology Sydney, class of 2010. She furthered her expertise by obtaining a Master of Primary Maternity Care from Griffith University in 2019.

Melanie is an Aboriginal woman, mother of two, and is a descendant of the Dharawal and Gumbaynggirr peoples.  Melanie was the first endorsed Aboriginal midwife in NSW. She is a senior midwife for Waminda South Coast Aboriginal Women’s Health and Welfare Corporation. Her leadership has been instrumental in the development of the 'Birthing on Country' program, which aims to offer comprehensive maternal, child, and family health care embedded with cultural integrity. This program has been recognized as a model for 'Closing the Gap' in health disparities.

In 2022, Melanie's exceptional contributions were acknowledged when she was honored with the HESTA Australian Midwife of the Year award.

Emily Bollinger

Emily is a midwife working in the midwifery group practice at Royal North Shore Hospital. Her passion for midwifery is evident in her approach to patient care, emphasizing personalized support and evidence-based practices. 

Her contributions to the field have been recognized by her peers, and she continues to advocate for improved maternal health services.

Emily feels that women who achieve their desired birth outcome in a place of their choosing often have reduced rates of postnatal depression. 

She believes this is due to them having an increased amount of oxytocin in their body which stays for sometime as they usually comfortably speak about their birth, reliving the experience. She feels this oxytocin in their bodies ultimately assists in bonding with their babies and breastfeeding, truly shaping the postnatal experience for women. Additionally, she also feels that improved mental health in the postnatal period sets women up for a positive physical recovery. 

In addition to her clinical work, Emily is also actively involved in professional development and education, aiming to enhance the quality of care provided by midwives.

Naomi Ford

Naomi has recently made a change from a Clinical Midwifery Consultant at The Royal Hospital for Women in Randwick, where she helped leaded the development and implementation of the Midwifery Antenatal Postnatal Service (MAPS). This innovative continuity-of-care model strengthens relationships between women and their midwives, fostering trust and improving outcomes across the maternity journey.

Naomi is passionate about woman-centred care and advancing maternal and newborn health, she now works at the Agency for Clinical Innovation, a pillar of the Ministry of Health and continues to shape and improve maternity and neonatal services across NSW through a broader lens.

Naomi believes Birth is a normal part of life, yet profoundly transformative. Being informed and having choices during this time builds resilience and confidence. When women feel safe, respected, and heard, they often emerge with a sense of empowerment and control. 

Ultimately, honouring a woman’s autonomy in birth isn’t just about the type or birth itself—it’s about shaping how she sees herself and her capability in the world going forward, as a parent, at work, in all relationships and in future births.

Jen Hazi

Jennifer works as a registered and endorsed midwife based in Sydney, Australia. She has over 14 years of experience in supporting women through pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period.

Jennifer completed her Bachelor of Midwifery and has worked as a midwife and childbirth educator, deeply committed to providing continuity of care to women and their families. Over the past few years, Jennifer has transitioned into private practice, opening a midwifery/women’s health clinic & community space in Paddington called “The Gathering Space. As a private midwife, Jennifer cares for women planning both homebirth and hospital birth in addition to women seeking additional care in pregnancy. Jennifer provides private antenatal and postnatal care as well as offering a free community drop-in midwifery clinic each Thursday.

Beyond her clinical practice, Jennifer is an advocate for informed and empowered birthing experiences. She actively engages with the community through her YouTube channel, where she shares insights on midwifery and motherhood, aiming to educate and support women in their birthing choices.

Jennifer feels that when women are supported to birth in the way they choose, they leave that experience with a profound sense of agency—something that influences not only their parenting, but their confidence, relationships, and long-term well-being. Even when outcomes differ from their plans, knowing that their values, desires, and needs were respected helps build a deep trust in themselves. She also feels that when a woman’s sense of what she needs is truly honoured—even within complex circumstances—it affirms her voice, strengthens her self-belief, and becomes a powerful source of resilience she carries forward into every part of her life.