Supporting women throughout pregnancy, labour, birth and early parenting has been Marion Fazakerley’s passion for 30 years.
The Mackay Birth Centre midwife made the move from nursing to midwifery in 1990 after supporting a friend during the natural birth of her daughter.
“It was such a calm, beautiful experience. From that moment on I wanted to be with women and help bring babies in to the world,” Marion said.
“I arrived in Australia from New Zealand and did my training with Mater Mothers in Brisbane but the metro hospitals weren’t for me and what I was looking for, so I moved to Nanango and Kingaroy where I really enjoyed small country town midwifery.
“During that time I was involved in the set-up of the postnatal home visiting program which is still going today.”
In 2000, Marion commenced at the Mackay Birth Centre and considers it a privilege to be part of a family’s journey into parenthood.
“Sometimes you meet first-time mothers who are very timid, quiet women and my role is to help grow their confidence through education and informed choice,” she said.
“With knowledge and a supportive midwife-mother relationship, women learn to trust their bodies to become more empowered during labour and birth.
“Birth is very instinctive so we aim to instil that confidence early on to help keep birth a normal, healthy life event for them.”
This year Marion will notch up 21 years of “catching babies” with the Mackay Birth Centre and insists she has many more years to give to the women of Mackay.
“I enjoy my role immensely and it’s the families that keep me coming back every day.”
Today on International Day of the Midwife (5 May), Mackay Hospital and Health Service are celebrating the dedication and contributions midwives make to maternal and newborn health.
