Lois Wattis has been a Midwife for 15 years, a Registered Nurse for 18 years and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant for 10 years. Lois has provided a private postnatal service, ‘Babymooon Home Visits’, in Queensland since 2005.

Lois also practiced as an accredited Independently Practising Midwife (IPM) in Western Australia for five years providing primary midwifery care and attending home births with the Community Midwifery Program, employed by the Health Department of Western Australia. This Government funded service offers care by a midwife from early pregnancy and throughout, attending the home birth and providing postnatal care for 6 weeks. This program is the model that the newly developed Eligible Midwife accreditation system has been based on and adopted nationally, allowing midwives to care for well women throughout the childbirth continuum, and provision of Medicare bulk billing for services and prescribing rights.

Lois has been published internationally in midwifery journals and Midwifery Best Practice edited by Sara Wickham, providing professional education to other midwives. Lois’ contribution to midwifery education was acknowledged at the International Confederation of Midwives in 2004 when she was awarded a Fellow of the Australian College of Midwives. Lois’ experience is broad, and her focus is now on supporting parents negotiating the steep learning curve as they care for their new baby.

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