Northern Beaches local Sheryl Sidery reminisces on more than 30 years of experience as a midwife, including an incredible 570 homebirths, her love and admiration for women, and her new adventure in Queensland caring for Indigenous mothers.
With over 30 years’ experience as a midwife, Sheryl Sidery has worked in various settings, from birth centres and delivery suites to homebirth, supporting thousands of families.
The long-time local successfully established the public home birth program at the Royal Hospital for Women and has educated future midwives and prospective parents.
Now retired from private practice, she has travelled to Cocktown, QLD, to care for Indigenous women.
Sheryl says midwifery is a passion that she discovered when she first became a mother herself.
“I can remember when my son was about four days old thinking, ‘I want to be the person reflecting back to women how extraordinary we are,’ because we are extraordinary,” she says.
Already a nurse, she did her midwifery training at the Randwick women’s hospital. Towards the end of that training, she learned another type of care was possible.
“I met a woman working in a way that I had never seen any of the other midwives. She turned the lights down; she rubbed the woman’s back. She said things that were very nurturing.”
The woman explained she had done an apprenticeship as a homebirth midwife and that she was at the hospital to get clinical experience.
“I want to be the person reflecting back to women how extraordinary we are.”
“The minute I finished my training, I went into an apprenticeship with homebirth midwives so I could learn about that,” Sheryl says.
“Birthing at home is just as safe, if not safer, than birthing in a hospital. It’s just sad that women don’t know that.
“And that is why I made the decision years ago to go back to the Royal Hospital for Women and start the home birth program. I wanted it for the women. But I also did it for the midwives,” she explains.
Funded by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMO), Sheryl spend three years building the Royal’s home birth program.
“It was surprising how there were 30 midwives working in group practice and for the first year only five put their hand up,” she says.
It took time and a lot of education sessions to change the mindset.
“I wanted to make it sustainable, so that when I left, it wouldn’t just all fall apart. And it’s still going. It’s something I’m really, really proud of.”
Sheryl also taught at UTS on and off for 20 years and at Newcastle University last year. She has also educated prospective parents at Birthcircle on the Northern Beaches.
“It was my retirement plan,” she laughs. But her daughter Abby, also a midwife, took over. “She is great, and she loves it”.
Sheryl believes that her role is holding space for women.
“While the birth unfolds, I think my presence makes the woman feel safe,” she says.
“Women will often say, ‘I felt like everything was okay because whenever I opened my eyes and looked at you, you looked very relaxed’.”
Earlier this year, Sheryl retired from private practice. She was so committed this time that she even sold her kit. But as the unstoppable woman she is, she had to say ‘yes’ to a new adventure – this time in Cocktown, QLD, caring for Indigenous pregnant women.
Upon her arrival, her experience saw her put straight into a management role.
Having only been there a few months, she ‘still hasn’t come to do what she wanted to do’, Sheryl admits.
“Go out to the remote communities and see how women live out there.”
Currently, there is only one doctor available in Cocktown and the area needs at least three. Hence, at 36 weeks the mothers are sent to Cairns to give birth.
But, lucky for these women, during their pregnancy journey they have Sheryl.
By Patricia Alonso