Book review: "Mobile Midwives, transforming birth options. A memoir."

31/03/2026 Lee Swift

I am fortunate to work with a lovely group of midwives. They are a very social bunch and love any excuse for a morning or afternoon tea, after work meetups and celebrations. If you work with us and go on maternity leave, be prepared to leave full of yummy food and with a basket of presents so big you’ll have to get someone else to carry it to your car! Christmas is, of course, always well celebrated with multiple end of year gatherings. My highlight is a secret Santa gift exchange with afternoon tea. Every time I’ve been able to participate, I’ve been thrilled to receive a book or two. I feel like my workmates know me well, as on my meal breaks I can generally be found tucked up in the corner of the tearoom with a book and a big cup of tea.

This year I received “Mobile Midwives: transforming birth options. A Memoir” by Marge Foley (along with a fiction novel which had me hooked within the opening pages and I look forward to finishing). Written in 2022, Mobile Midwives tells the story of Marge’s 40-year career in midwifery starting in her (and my) home state of Tasmania and the journey of moving to Darwin and starting her own homebirth service, Mobile Midwives, in 1997. It was fascinating to read about how much midwifery has changed since Marge became a midwife in 1972, things that were routine and accepted as best practice left me feeling slightly horrified and sad for the women and midwives who experienced birth in this way. Her professional journey covering multiple roles, including midwifery unit manager, is inspiring and her passion for creating better birth options for women is a major theme throughout the book.

Facilitating change in maternity care, both in the hospital and the home, is another theme throughout the book. Some changes were small e.g. using curtains to hide birth equipment and personal, e.g. educating couples though childbirth classes. Some were bigger changes e.g designing a midwifery unit with women’s comfort and privacy in mind, creating a collaborative care model with GP’s and obstetricians, and encouraging couples and midwives to seek change through politics.

My favorite part of this book is, not surprisingly, the birth stories. Marge uses birth stories throughout the book to illustrate her growth as midwife, how changes in midwifery practice also changed the experience of birth, along with giving readers a real life example of the focal point of the chapter. In the opening pages Marge states that while she planned on using false names for the birth stories to maintain anonymity, every woman she reconnected with gave permission not only to use the story, but also to use their real name insisting that “it’s my birth story, and I’m happy to own it”. For me this speaks to the level of trust that Marge cultivated with the women she cared for and that this trust remains many years later.

Personally, I was challenged by this book in a way I didn’t expect. Not to change the way I practice, not to change the system of care I work in (although I know both require constant growth) and certainly not to launch another business; but it raised the question of “am I enough?” Marge had been a midwife for 24 years when she launched Mobile Midwives. The professional accomplishments of her and her fellow Mobile Midwives listed in the book made me feel totally unaccomplished. Professionally, on paper, after almost 20 years as a midwife I’m still on the same level as those who have recently qualified. More recently qualified midwives surpass me in knowledge and skills, and some have taken these skills overseas to work in developing countries. Women I graduated midwifery with have risen through the ranks, and one is currently in a management position in the Women’s and Children’s Services in the local hospital. I, on the other hand, have not gone anywhere.

But I am more than what I am professionally on paper. I love raising my children, working alongside my husband as he grows our business, and sharing my skills, knowledge and beliefs with the people I meet through Calmbirth, church, playgroup, school, at the hospital and wherever I get the opportunity.

I am enough. Even as I wrote my question in the paragraphs above my subconscious spoke loud and clear and I typed the question backwards as “I am enough?” (The computer’s punctuation checker marked it incorrect and it took me a couple of seconds to realise what I’d done.)

I am enough.

You are enough.

As you read birth stories that are so different to yours or challenge your beliefs, as you see parents who are raising their kids “the only right way” (whatever that is) and seem to be able to do it all, making you feel like you’re failing. Know that you are enough. Your birth story, your parenting journey. It’s yours. Own it. If you’re not parenting the way you want to, seek out the support you need to change it. Know that at the end of the day if you know that you did your best with the energy, time and knowledge that you had… that is enough. Even as you promise to do better… You are enough.

The book, Mobile Midwives, is part memoir, part birth stories, and part educational that will appeal to both birth professionals and lay people alike, giving insight into the life of a midwife and her journey in improving care for pregnant couples.

It gets three and a half stars from me.