"Being transferred from Carnarvon to Perth to give birth left me isolated, unsupported and mentally unsafe"

I gave birth to my first child in Carnarvon in 2019 and my second child in 2021. Those experiences meant a lot to me because I was able to stay close to home, my family, my children’s routines, and the midwives I trusted. The midwives in Carnarvon are brilliant, and I felt safe with them.

With my third baby in 2023, I was not able to birth in Carnarvon and had to relocate to Perth for about six weeks before giving birth at King Edward Memorial Hospital. I had two small children with me at the time. This meant they missed school, were away from family, and were taken out of their usual support network. I also had no family in Perth to help with childcare, appointments, transport, or the emotional strain of being away from home.

One of my children is autistic, which added another layer of pressure that I do not feel the system properly understood. The sudden move away from home, routine, familiar people and supports was incredibly hard. Managing appointments, long waiting times, changes in sleep and routine, sensory stress, distress, and unfamiliar hospital environments while heavily pregnant was overwhelming. I was trying to keep my child regulated and safe while also trying to manage my pregnancy care.

The relocation caused significant stress. It affected my mental health, disrupted my children’s routines, and contributed to parenting and legal conflict because of the changes forced on our family. I felt like the system did not understand the reality of asking a mother from Carnarvon to uproot her whole life and wait in Perth with small children, including an autistic child, for weeks.

I also felt lost in the transfer process. Once my care was transferred from Carnarvon to Perth, it felt like I disappeared into a gap between services. Important documents took weeks to locate or organise. Appointments involved long periods of sitting and waiting at King Edward Memorial Hospital, which was extremely difficult when I had children with me and no one to look after them. There seemed to be no practical support for rural mothers who arrive with children because they have no choice.

The hardest part was the loneliness. I went from being cared for by local midwives who knew me and my situation, to feeling like I was just another person sitting in a waiting room in Perth. I felt scared, overwhelmed and deeply isolated. My mental health deteriorated to the point where I felt at risk of suicide. That still upsets me because I believe much of that distress came from the system, not from the pregnancy itself.

I want people to understand the emotional, practical and safety impact this has on rural mothers and families. Carnarvon has skilled midwives, and women deserve clear communication, timely transfer of records, and real support when they are required to leave home to birth elsewhere. Support should include help for mothers who have children with them, especially when one of those children has disability or additional needs, and especially when there is no family support in Perth.

I am not writing this to blame individual midwives. The Carnarvon midwives are brilliant, and I am grateful for them. I am writing because the system around transfers needs to be better. No mother should feel abandoned, isolated and mentally unsafe while trying to safely give birth.