Files and links (1)
Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
“I trust the evidence”: Why Australian midwives practice homebirth without professional indemnity insurance
Women and Birth, Vol.39(1), pp.1-7
2026
PMID: 41478101
Abstract
Background
Professional indemnity insurance (PII) has not been available for intrapartum care at home for privately practice midwives (PPMs) in Australia since 2001.
Aims
To examine the effect of the lack of professional indemnity insurance on the private practice of Australian homebirth midwives.
Methods
In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with midwives (n = 11), who were currently or had recently been providing homebirth services. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to explore how midwives navigate professional and personal risk in their practice.
Findings
Three higher-order themes were found that describe how midwives manage their private practice without PII for homebirth: I feel vulnerable without insurance, The system doesn’t support my practice, and I have my own risk management processes.
Conclusion
From 2001–30 th June 2025, Australian PPMs provided homebirth services without any PII, putting them at personal and professional risk. Australian PPMs navigate other risks such as the experience of horizontal violence upon transfer from home to hospital, blame culture in the maternity system which may result in an Ahpra notification and ethical distress when trying to provide care for women with complex needs. This research illustrates how PPMs practice in a system that doesn’t support them.
Details
- Title
- “I trust the evidence”: Why Australian midwives practice homebirth without professional indemnity insurance
- Authors
- Jennifer Mitchell (Corresponding Author) - Griffith UniversityCarolyn Hastie (Author) - Griffith UniversityRoslyn Donnellan-Fernandez (Author) - Griffith UniversityLaura Gabriel (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Midwifery
- Publication details
- Women and Birth, Vol.39(1), pp.1-7
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.wombi.2025.102159
- ISSN
- 1878-1799; 1871-5192
- PMID
- 41478101
- Copyright note
- © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Australian College of Midwives. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Grant note
- This project was completed as part of a master’s dissertation and did not receive any financial assistance.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Health - Midwifery
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991197251002621
- Output Type
- Journal article
Metrics
5 Record Views