WE ARE NEW LIFE MIDWIFERY
Meet our
New Life Midwifery team
Like our mothers and their babies, our midwives are all unique.
Each arrives at the midwifery profession with vast previous experiences and individual approaches to specialised women-centred care.
Our midwives are endorsed by AHPRA and meet the ongoing requirements, as well as those of the NMBA, to work to the full scope of midwifery practice.
As a practice, we proudly support graduating midwives to endorsement and provide student placements for undergraduates from Griffith University.
Our continued success and repeat patients reflect our commitment to women-centre, continuity of midwifery care.
MEET YOUR midwives |
Director & Midwife
Alex Crowell
“I love working with women and feel so privileged to walk alongside them on this transformative and sacred journey.”
I have two beautiful daughters and fell in love with continuity of midwifery care as a student. It was care I wished I’d had and what I hoped to offer others. I was the first Bachelor of Midwifery student in Australia to work in private practice as a new graduate and was introduced to the incredible world of home birth. I have been in private practice for more than 12 years and am now part owner of New Life with my dear friend and colleague Jannie.
I am passionate about physiological birth, women’s health and continuity of midwifery care. Women possess an inherent wisdom and I love learning from each and every birthing journey. I revel in developing ways to inspire women to have a transformative birth experience by forging their own path. I have completed studies in Kinesiology, Neurolinguistic Programming and Life Coaching and am a published co-author of ‘The Aligned Woman’s Way’. I love working with a team that takes pride in providing a holistic approach to ensure women experience their best birth and journey into matrescence. I believe all women should have access to their own midwife and the right to respectful maternity care.
MEET YOUR midwives |
director, Midwife & Lactation consultant
Jannie Sperling
“It is a great privilege to be able to follow women and their families on the journey of pregnancy, birth and early parenthood.”
My passion for birth, breastfeeding and the sanctity that is motherhood was ignited with the arrival of my own children and has continued to grow ever since. My background was in biology and zoology, with a special interest in physiology. This has definitely influenced my view on birth as a natural physiological process.
I love being with and around women at this very special time of their lives. Prior to becoming a midwife, I held roles as a counsellor for the Australian Breastfeeding Association, Doula, HypnoBirthing practitioner and a Lactation Consultant. I was mentored in private practice as a student and worked at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital as a new graduate before returning to New Life full-time in 2021. I also have qualifications in craniosacral therapy, hypnotherapy, and nutritional counselling. I’m very excited about offering women and their families what is the ‘gold standard’ of maternity care.
New Life Midwifery |
Office Manager
Judi Dudgeon
“I find it extremely rewarding to develop relationships with women and their families, and love providing support to our dedicated midwives and broader team.”
I have worked at New Life Midwifery for several years and have found it to be a supportive and caring workplace providing exemplary continuity of midwifery care to local women and their families. I do many important jobs behind the scenes as well as greeting all our families as they arrive. I believe that childbirth and the journey to motherhood are normal life processes and that women should be supported and encouraged in this journey.
I have four daughters who I hope one day will benefit from the individual pregnancy, labour and birth experience that the continuity of care model provides. I find it extremely rewarding to develop relationships with women and their families and love providing support to the midwives.
As part of our mission to provide the highest quality holistic midwifery and family-centred care, our team are lucky enough to work alongside many other incredible specialised practitioners from our local community and beyond.
We are passionate about building a supportive and safe community for women where all of us can feel empowered by each other whether that is in birth, in business or in every day life.
Our incredible partner practitioners
Got questions?
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All midwives currently working are endorsed by AHPRA and meet the ongoing requirements, as well as those of the NMBA, to work to the full scope of midwifery practice. Individual midwifery experience at New Life Midwifery has ranged from 40+ years to 5 years, as well as supporting graduate midwives towards endorsement, and providing student placement for undergraduates from Griffith University.
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Private midwifery costs vary depending on the services you want to use. The midwives at New Life Midwifery have Medicare provider numbers, therefore if you have a Medicare card and are currently pregnant or have recently had a baby, you will be eligible to claim Medicare rebates for private midwifery services. Medicare does not cover the whole cost of private midwifery services, therefore there will be some out-of-pocket costs for most services. The exact cost is dependent upon your Medicare safety net. As our midwives do not have private visiting access to health care services, there is no Medicare rebate for birth. We are happy to provide the details of the various options available and the costs for each during your initial no-obligation information visit at our clinic.
To book, call our clinic on 3282 9614 (Mon-Thurs, 8:30 am-4:30 pm) or email us at midwife@newlifemidwifery.com.au
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No referral is required to have an information session with one of our midwives. However, if you are outside the Ipswich catchment or plan to birth at another health care facility, you may require a referral for the booking appointment, until November 2024.
Our New Life midwives are Endorsed which means they can write scan and blood referrals and prescribe medications, within their scope of practice.
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No. Private health funds have many different plans and a few companies provide some cover for private midwifery services. If you already have a health fund, we recommend asking your health fund about what benefits you are entitled to.
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Yes. It is your choice which health professionals are involved in your care. Your midwife has a defined area of expertise and scope of practice which includes normal pregnancy, birth and postnatal period. If you have additional health needs, your midwife will work collaboratively with other professionals to ensure that you are receiving the right level of support and advice for your individual needs.
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At New Life Midwifery there are 3 full time midwives who each have a caseload of women who are due to birth every calendar month (unless the midwife is planning to have scheduled annual leave). We only have capacity to book a certain amount of women each month to ensure we maintain our gold standard of care. At New Life, we recommend you to meet your midwife at the information visit but if this isn’t possible we always offer you the opportunity to meet any others who are available if you wish, even after your information visit. During your pregnancy you will have opportunities to meet the other midwives in clinic as they will attend as a second midwife at home birth and/or provide back up if your midwife is unavailable for any reason (for example if she is sick, on leave, or providing birth support).
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At New Life Midwifery we have a large lending library with books, research articles and DVDs and these are available for our clients to borrow at no extra cost. We love for you to empower yourself with as much knowledge as possible!
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New Life midwives honour this journey as a rite of passage. Partners are encouraged to attend where possible and children are always welcome too. In fact, particularly if you are birthing at home, younger children in particular are encouraged to be present to get to know the midwife also so they feel comfortable when she attends you at home. Any support person you choose to be part of your journey is welcome.
Welcome to the
New Life family
We are a collective of private midwives providing holistic pregnancy, birth and postnatal care to Ipswich and surrounding communities, including the Lockyer Valley and Brisbane’s Western suburbs.