Bentley Hospital in Western Australia is the first public health service to offer a new Midwifery Birth Centre that is based on a contemporary model of care.

The build is underway and is expected to open during the second half of 2024. The centre will offer women the option to have the same Endorsed Midwife to care for them the entire way through, from pregnancy to post-natal care. An Endorsed Midwife is someone who has taken additional training and is highly skilled.

The East Metropolitan area currently has eight Endorsed Midwives and Carli Beange will soon join them as the ninth. She is the first publicly employed and credentialled Endorsed Midwife in WA.

“What we hear from WA women is that they want options when it comes to birthing, and that is what the Midwifery Birth Centre at Bentley Hospital offers… It (the model of care) will provide women with a greater choice of birth settings with the overarching goal of enabling women-centred care and positive birth experiences” said Health Minister, Amber-Jade Sanderson.

With $2.6 million injected into the design, build and fit-out by the Cook Government, the new birth centre with include birthing pools, antenatal assessment rooms, a family room, birth suites, and a midwives’ hub. Additionally, there will be a networking capability to share live birth data with other sites within the East Metropolitan Health Service area.

“The new centre is one of a suite of projects that will benefit pregnant women and their families, including the new Women and Babies Hospital at Murdoch, and major upgrades to maternity facilities at Osborne Park Hospital” said Premier Roger Cook.