Life's Journey Collective

29/08/2026

🤍 A Minute With Your Midwife 🤍

Continuity Matters

What if you didn’t have to explain your story over and over again?

One of the beautiful things about private midwifery care is continuity. Your midwife gets to know you — your hopes, questions, preferences and circumstances — and walks alongside you through pregnancy, birth and beyond.

Because feeling known matters.

Mia at Life’s Journey Collective is currently offering continuity for antenatal and postnatal care. Reach out if you’re interested or have any questions.

25/08/2026

A very interesting read !

13/08/2026

In our current culture we’ve learnt to value busy and see outward actions as signs of a competent practitioner…. But silence in the birth space is such a powerful reassurance that all is well.

It is nearly a year since my dear teacher, mentor and friend Michel Odent passed away.

In the weeks after his death, I found myself returning to his books. One evening, lying in bed reading The Functions of the Or***ms, I came across these words again and laughed out loud.

It felt so quintessentially Michel.

So much of birth work is focused on doing.

What should we do?
What should we say?
How should we reassure?
How should we support?

And yet one of the most important things we may offer a birthing woman is our capacity to be quiet.

But silence is about so much more than not talking.

It is about presence. Deep listening. Attunement.

A Silent Birthkeeper is not passive.

She is deeply present.

She learns to protect the conditions in which birth can unfold, to prowl the perimeter of the birthing field as a protector of what is unfolding.

🌿 Curious about the Silent Birthkeeper?

On Thursday 20 August, 11:00–12:00 SAST, I am holding a free online information gathering where I will share more about the year-long immersion, and there will be plenty of space for questions.

There is absolutely no obligation to join afterwards. Come and meet us, listen, ask questions and get a feeling for the space.

If you can't attend live, register anyway and we will send you the recording.

🌿 The next Silent Birthkeeper begins in November 2026
🌿 Early Bird available until 31 August

Register for the free gathering via https://forms.gle/aRj5P9wjYDMRhuUm6

For more information on the one-year immersion true-midwifery1.teachable.com/p/silent-birthkeeper-an-introduction-to-true-midwifery1111

31/07/2026

… when midwives gather to refill their heart and soul from the deep work of holding others …
Melanie The Midwife

17/07/2026

When it’s time to return to work do you plan to continue to breastfeed? Checkout the webinar presented by Australian Breastfeeding Association for some great advice!

Returning to work or study after having a baby? ABA has the webinar for you!

Our Connect & Share webinar on combining work and breastfeeding will provide you with information and support for managing this transition and continuing to breastfeed.

When: Wednesday, 22 July, 7:30 PM
Book: aba.asn.au/share-work.

10/07/2026

Did you know that having midwifery lead care is a protective measure for reducing unnecessary intervention?

Unnecessary interventions during pregnancy, labour, and birth can increase the risk of harm for women and newborns without improving outcomes. This , we share the updated position statement on Unnecessary Interventions and the Risk of Harm for Women and Newborns.

Midwives play a vital role in promoting evidence-based, respectful, and person-centred care—supporting physiological birth, recognising when interventions are truly needed, and helping women make informed decisions throughout their care. To do so, health systems must enable midwives to work autonomously in partnership with women.

Access the statement here: https://zurl.co/D3zjF

29/06/2026

💯💯

17/06/2026

Great wisdom from Dr Edna Lekgabe on navigating the postpartum space.

29/05/2026

This literally left me speechless! Have you heard the word Matrescence before?

29/03/2026

This is such a simple and supportive shift we can make … choose a 24hr weight.

Let’s talk about something that stresses a lot of new parents out… baby’s weight 💛

All babies lose some weight in the first 24 hours. If you received IV fluids during labour, your baby may lose even more, not because of feeding, but because the fluids make the birth weight look higher than it really is. So sometimes what looks like a big drop is just your baby settling into their true starting point.

Canadian research found that when the 24 hour weight is used as the baseline, more babies were exclusively breastfed in those early days.

Sometimes it’s not about fixing anything, it can be understanding what’s normal.