There are now three registered midwives serving the Wanaka region, working out of the clinic at the Wanaka Lakes Health Centre. 

Deb Harvey has been working as a registered midwife and Lead Maternity Carer (LMC) in Wanaka since 2012. Late last year, Peta Hosking came to join Deb as Wanaka’s second registered midwife and LMC. 

With Linda Baker’s recent move down from Christchurch, the Wanaka area gained another full-time registered midwife and LMC.

Linda will practise as Aspiring Midwives, although she works out of the same clinic as Deb and Peta, whose practice name is Wanaka Midwives. Peta and Deb work as a team, while Linda has her own smaller number of patients. Both Linda and Deb agree they will all work together to get the best outcomes for local women and their families.

With the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown underway, the three midwives want to reassure women that their antenatal, birth and postnatal care will not suffer, although there will be some changes, due to Southern DHB and Ministry of Health protocols.

“We’re basically limiting the number of times we will see clients face-to-face, for their safety and ours,” Linda said. “Obviously we will still attend labours and births and visit mums with new babies at home, but we’ve cut right back on antenatal appointments in person, except where it’s really crucial.” 

“We have had some births during lockdown and the outcomes have been good,” she added. “The evidence so far suggests that pregnant women do not have an increased risk for COVID-19, compared to the rest of the population.” 

We’d recommend that all pregnant women have a good discussion with their midwife about where might be the safest place to give birth right now. Some women may choose to give birth at home, and we will support them to do that, if it’s appropriate for them.”

“One-to-one care will absolutely continue,” Deb added. “It just won’t be face-to-face unless that’s necessary for medical reasons.”

Deb said fewer than 30 per cent of local women give birth at home, with the other 70 per cent heading down to a ‘city’ setting - usually the Charlotte Jean maternity hospital in Alexandra, although some women with more complicated pregnancies may need to go to Queen Mary Hospital in Dunedin or Southland Hospital in Invercargill.

“We’re actually really lucky up here, because we do have a lovely primary birthing unit at Charlotte Jean, which is only an hour away,” Deb said. “Partners and small children can usually stay with the mum and baby in their own room at the unit, which is not something that is offered everywhere. So you can be together after the birth as a family, which is nice.”

The Charlotte Jean birthing unit also has a birthing pool, so a water birth is another viable option for some women. 

“Home birth is also a great choice for many women,” Linda said. “If you have an uncomplicated pregnancy, you might well choose to give birth at home. All our midwives have advanced resuscitation skills and many women do give birth at home here without any problems.”

For pregnant women and their partners in the Wanaka area, Linda recommends giving Ros McRae-Davenport’s hypnobirthing classes a try, as well as the usual antenatal classes to prepare you for labour, birth and life with a new baby.

Linda, who originally hails from Ireland, has over 30 years’ experience as a nurse, midwife and homeopath. 

Before becoming a midwife, she was an intensive care nurse and a flight nurse in the aviation industry. She did both her nursing and midwifery training in the UK before moving to New Zealand about 20 years ago.

Linda practised as a midwife and LMC for several years when she lived in Christchurch. Then her family lost their home in the Christchurch earthquakes and the search for a new home began.

“We literally dropped a pin in a map and found Wanaka,” Linda said. “What a stroke of luck.” 

For the past few years, she has been dividing her time between Christchurch and Wanaka, until the time was right to make Wanaka home for good. 

Linda said that because she cares for a smaller number of women, she can travel to Dunedin or Invercargill with her clients if she needs to. “There are also a few registered midwives who live locally who can back me up if the need arises,” she said.

“My other point of difference is that I can cover all the bases of conventional medicine and complementary medicine,” Linda said, “because I’ve also got 15 years experience as a homeopath, as well as my work as a nurse and midwife.”

Find out more about all Wanaka midwives by searching by location on the Find Your Midwife website.

PHOTOS: Supplied