New research from La Trobe University shows that culturally tailored maternity care is improving outcomes for First Nations families, with more babies born healthy and fewer requiring intensive care. The study was completed in partnership with the Women’s, Mercy Hospital for Women, and Joan Kirner Hospital for Women and Children.
Published in The Lancet eClinicalMedicine, the study analysed more than 164,000 births across three Victorian hospitals, including the Women’s.
At the Women’s, this model is delivered through the Baggarrook program, which provides continuity of care with a known midwife throughout pregnancy, birth and the early weeks after. The research found significant improvements across key outcomes, including reductions in preterm birth, low birthweight and neonatal intensive care admissions, and an increase in the percentage of babies born healthy.
For Noela and her partner Joshua, those findings reflect their own experience of care.
The couple received maternity care through the Baggarrook program during their pregnancy with their son, Titan. For Joshua, who is Wiradjuri, having care that felt culturally safe made a significant difference.
“Having someone who understood made it easier for him to speak up,” Noela said.
Seeing the same midwives throughout the pregnancy helped build trust early. Noela was supported by midwives Evelyn and Paras and knew they were there if she needed them.
“They were very open and flexible,” she said. “Knowing we had that support was a relief.”
In previous experiences, the couple were sometimes unsure whether staff would understand their needs. This time felt different.
“I could see the difference. It made us feel more comfortable the whole way through.”
The outcomes seen by families like Noela and Joshua’s are reflected at scale. The research found significant improvements for mothers and babies receiving culturally tailored, continuous care:
- 45 per cent increase in babies born healthy
- 33 per cent reduction in low birthweight
- 36 per cent reduction in babies born early
- 30 per cent fewer babies needing neonatal intensive care
- 86 per cent increase in breastfeeding
More than 64 per cent of eligible women received the model during the study period.
Lead researcher Professor Della Forster, from La Trobe University and the Women’s, said the findings show continuity of care makes a measurable difference.
“Our study shows that when women are cared for by a known midwife in a culturally informed model, we see meaningful improvements for both mothers and babies,” she said.
“These are important gains towards closing the gap.”
Baggarrook midwife specialist Evelyn Burns, a First Nations woman herself, said the strength of the model lies in the relationships it builds.
“When women see the same midwife throughout their care, they don’t have to start again each time,” she said. “You build trust, and that helps women feel more confident, more connected and more supported.”
For Noela, that sense of trust continued throughout her care and after Titan’s birth. He was born healthy, and the family returned home soon after.
More than anything, she said, the experience was defined by feeling known.
Baggarrook was introduced at the Women’s in 2017 in partnership with First Nations health teams, the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation and La Trobe University, along with models at Mercy Hospital for Women and Joan Kirner Hospital for Women and Children. The model was designed to address long-standing gaps in perinatal outcomes by providing culturally safe, continuous care.