What We Do
In line with its goal to improve the health of Australian families with a focus on women during pregnancy, labour, birth, and the post-natal period up to the child being five years of age, the Centre's activities focus primarily on the following areas:
Our objectives to contribute to knowledge generation and dissemination, and service improvement are achieved through:
- Provide leadership in midwifery, child and family health research, continuing professional education, practice development and consultancy;
- Conduct high quality research to increase our understanding of the physiology of childbirth and to improve the quality of practice, services and systems;
- Develop and evaluate practice development initiatives in midwifery and child health that are based on evidence and best practice;
- Collaborate with, and influence, policy makers in the provision of maternity and child and family health services;
- Participate in the educational preparation of, and professional development for, midwives and child and family health nurses;
- Investigate system-level reform of maternity, family and child health care provision, including the means to improve outcomes for women, their families and children up to five years of age;
- Strengthen and enable the work of postgraduate research students in the areas of midwifery and child and family health;
- Contribute to the education of midwives, child and family health nurses and others;
- Engage and nurture emerging and early career researchers in the fields;
- Foster collaborative relationships that lead to interdisciplinary research and practice development and improvements;
- Provide technical, evidence based, consultancy services to national and international governments and providers of maternity services and family services.