Last month, Tamara Blanch got a message from a woman she cared for during pregnancy and birth, wishing her 'happy birthing day' as thanks for the experience they shared when the woman's baby was born.
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"That baby was turning 13," Ms Blanch, an Aboriginal midwife who works at Binji and Boori, the region's Aboriginal Maternal and Infant Health Service, said.
"Women are very connected to this place, and they bring their babies back for a long time."
Binji and Boori - which means bellies or women and children in local Aboriginal languages - is one of the few remaining services run out of the old Port Kembla Hospital.
Now in its 25th year, it offers pregnancy, birth and postnatal support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children, as well as child and family health visits for kids aged up to five.
It also has services in Nowra.
In recent years, it has started seeing the births of the grandchildren of some of the first women who used the service, and Ms Blanch said in the last 12 months 176 babies were born under the antenatal service.
"The majority of our clients are self referred, or referred by a friend or family member - or they come back with subsequent babies or even their grandchildren, which really speaks volumes about the trust we have built," she said.
"Binji and Boori exists to work on closing the gap targets - so increasing the number of children that are ready for school, decreasing the number of babies that are born at a disadvantage, decreasing low birth rate babies and stillbirths.
"Some of the really good stuff that's come out in the last couple of years is that we've reduced our smoking rates from about 50% of the women smoking during pregnancy down to around 33 per cent, and then of those that 33% about 20 to 30 per cent actually gave up during pregnancy as well with extra support."
Culturally safe as well as clinically safe
The service employs midwives, social workers, child and family nurses and Aboriginal health workers, and clients can be seen at the service or at in-home visits to make sure they feel comfortable.
As well as the usual medical and social supports that go along with pregnancy and young babies, the service offers extra advocacy and cultural support for Aboriginal people.
"Aboriginal health workers are here to provide cultural support to the non-Aboriginal staff that work here, but they're also there to advocate for the women in the hospital or with other service providers where women don't have the confidence to be able to express their concerns or their thoughts about their child and development," Ms Blanch said.
"It's about making sure that women feel culturally safe as well as clinically safe.
"A lot of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people don't feel safe within mainstream services, purely because of the long-term governmental history - so the removal of children and all of that sort of stuff.
"So women will often not tell you part of their story because they don't want to be involved with other services, and by having an advocate they can feel safer to talk about what's going on for them.
"Our motto that we always use is strong babies, strong families, strong community.
"So it's about building resilience, not only in the health of that baby, but also the health and the resilience of the mother and the family. And then by doing that, we're making the community healthier in the long run."
A chance to connect with culture
Binji and Boori midwives also do activities like belly casting, where a plaster cast is made of a woman's pregnant breasts and belly during one of her last antenatal appointments.
"Basically, it's an opportunity at that 36 week mark to go through any questions about birth, talk to them about their birthing process or what they would like to happen and talk about breastfeeding, what will happen after you have your baby," Ms Blanch said.
"The casting helps us get up close and personal and have all those conversations, and women really love the casts, they can take them home and paint them - and we've had lots of women bring theirs back to show us, because they're so proud of what they've done."
Last year, the service held its first smoking ceremony at Killalea for all the new babies.
"It was really lovely, we did a smoking ceremony and a Welcome to Country for all those babies that had been born that year, and we're holding it again this year," Ms Blanch said.
"People thanked us, for giving them time to connect with their culture. One comment we got was that 'they mean a lot, they help heal the past and connect us with the future generations through those babies.
"One of the grandfathers said he wished that they had this opportunity when their children were born, when there was no service like this to provide that support."
'It just gives you that extra comfort knowing that they understand'
Two weeks ago, Albion Park Rail mother Erin Gliddon gave birth to her first child - son Tyler - and said Binji and Boori had been a sanity saver during a stressful time.
"I don't think I would have got through my pregnancy without them - it was just reassuring to know that you had someone that you could call and speak to without having to book a doctor's appointment or go to the hospital, and you were able to build rapport and relationships with them," the Aboriginal woman said.
"They'd let you have a yarn, they'd make you feel comfortable."
She said seeing the same three midwives, who are all either Indigenous or have been trained to be aware of any medical or cultural needs that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people might have helped her - and family members who have also used the service - feel comfortable and supported by the medical system.
"My mum had issues with her first pregnancy, and they really took on board how I was feeling because I could have had complications like her, so they made sure that I was comfortable - they knew I didn't want to go over [my due date] and made sure that wasn't going to happen," she said.
"It's also hard to get into a GP, and when you do, you can't always build the right rapport or you may not have the funds to do it - but I didn't have to worry about any of that while I was pregnant.
"My GP is wonderful, but I've definitely had GPs in the past where I didn't feel comfortable. [At Binji and Boori] they understand culture and offer other bits and pieces like belly casting to make Indigenous people feel that little bit more comfortable when speaking with a medical professional."
"It just gives you that extra comfort knowing that they understand where you're coming from if you have any cultural needs - and even the midwives who aren't Indigenous are fully aware any cultural needs you may or may not have."
She said she also valued having support for Tyler as he grows.
"Indigenous people have different checkups, different needles and immunisations, so it's good having someone that's fully aware of all that," Ms Gliddon said.
"And for Tyler, it also just keeps him in touch with his culture and community too, so if he has any questions as he gets older he doesn't have to just come to me or my partner, or his granddad, he can talk to other people as well."
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
