For interested American Midwives!!!

Tuatapere Maternity is looking for you! Beaches, mountains, sheep within minutes of where you will live on the South Island. Ideally an 8-12 week commitment… We are busiest mid-
December through the end of January with 16 women due.

ALERT: We have approval from the Hospital Board...we just found out we need clearance from the NZ midwifery council, which we are seeking. Please be patient, as the details are being worked out!!!!

New Zealand is one of the most midwife-friendly countries in the world. I wanted to experience their version of midwifery when I read about NZ several years ago. I was pleased to discover that American midwife credentials translate into their system of accreditation.
(Well…after a lot of paperwork!) I am the 4th American, at this job, and because of the great work by the preceding midwives, including the awesome Kiwi midwives, the word is out about this gem for pregnancy, labor and postpartum care.

Upon my arrival, I discovered that we are far busier than anticipated and thus, my desire to share a clinical opportunity with another eager midwife student, who may be like me, wanting the opportunity to experience international midwifery…hands on!

Expect to get actively involved in caring for our patients. Both facilities are certified “Baby
Friendly,” for breastfeeding. Email: kerryanndixon@msn.com Please attach a CV and letter of
interest. I will call for a phone interview.

We staff four unique clinical settings:
1) Births at Tuatapere Maternity Home, which is for healthy, low-risk women. This would be like a birth center in America with some subtle differences, like being able to give nitrous oxide for pain management. After giving birth, mothers have the opportunity to postpartum for up to six days at the home. Midwives provide daily rounds, for both mother and infant, and then visits once a week at their home for 5 more weeks. Our patients receive care by a registered nurse or nurse aide round the clock, while at Tuatapere.

2) Our other low-risk, healthy women who choose to birth at Southland District Hospital, an hour a way in Invercargill. In that setting, we do all their labor care, because, interestingly, there are no labor & delivery nurses! After the women are discharged from the hospital, within a few hours, most will transfer back to Tuatapere Maternity for their leisurely postpartum stay.

3) Homebirths, we have a few planned.

4) Higher-risk women, who have secondary care by an obstetrician, as well as continuous care by us, birth at Southland District Hospital. Interestingly, we consult with the physician, and as long as all is going well, we might never, ever, see the physician at the birth. This would include: VBACS, hypertensive’s, gestational diabetics, etc.
*We also provide daily rounds for other midwife patients who want to postpartum at the maternity home. After discharge most will receive the remainder of their care

Who we care for:
We are serving women~ teens to grand-multips. In the finest midwifery tradition, we do blood
draws, all our labor sitting, and care for newborns up to six weeks. Many visits will be in the
patient’s home, AP and PP. You will have the opportunity to see normal birth, and because of the way the system works, also be caring for insulin-dependent diabetics, smokers, obese, twins
and other higher-risk women.

Expenses: You need to pay your airfare, and for your food and fun. Also, FBI clearance (~$20)
You need a current passport. You can come on a tourist visa, since you won’t be officially working or studying in the country. That is if you stay < 3 months.

Free furnished housing attached to the maternity home. Groceries within walking distance, you will only need a car if you want to do some tourist activities at the end.

Tuatapere, on the South Island of New Zealand is considered a remote, rural location in terms of medical facilities. The closest hospital is 1 hour by car away. Must be willing to be far from such things as a bank, serious grocery store. After one month, I am still struggling to get internet at the lovely home which I live in. Patience is a virtue, which as a midwife, I should have ample amounts, right???