Launceston Birth Centre

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Every family deserves access to safe, evidence-based maternity care and genuine choice about where and with whom they give birth.

These proposed changes could have devastating consequences for private practice midwives, particularly in rural and regional communities like ours, and significantly reduce access to homebirth and continuity of midwifery care.

We stand with Midwives Australia, the Australian College of Midwives, and consumer advocacy groups in calling for these changes to be reconsidered.

If you live in Tasmania, please consider contacting Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, Rebecca White, to share why access to private midwifery care and homebirth options matter to you. Every voice helps.

Please read the post below, share it with others, and help protect safe, woman-centred maternity care for families across Australia.

Join us for our next Launceston Birth Centre Morning Tea!

We’d love for you to join us on Thursday 30th July at 10:00am for our monthly catch-up with Birth Centre families, babies, and parents-to-be.

This is a relaxed and friendly opportunity to connect with other families, meet parents who have welcomed their babies with a private midwife at home or through the Birth Centre, and chat with others who are exploring their options and planning the birth experience they hope for.

Anyone wanting to explore the option of birthing with a private midwife or at the Launceston Birth Centre is also very welcome to come along. It's a great opportunity to meet other families, ask questions, and hear about their experiences in a relaxed, informal setting.

If our midwives aren't busy supporting a new family, they'll often drop in for a cuppa and a chat too.

We'll be meeting at Door of Hope Cafe. If the weather is kind, we may head to a nearby park instead, so please SMS Carmel to RSVP and receive any location updates, or keep an eye on our social media pages for any last-minute changes.

Everyone is welcome...bring your baby, your partner, a friend, or simply come along yourself.

We look forward to seeing you there!

A very exciting update from Launceston Birth Centre.

Thanks to the incredible generosity of our supporters and all the donations received, the new flooring in one of our bedrooms is now complete.

We are so grateful to everyone who has contributed towards helping us refresh and improve this beautiful space for birthing families. The room looks so clean, fresh and welcoming, we couldn’t be happier with the transformation.

A very special thank you to Daniel Sellers, who generously donated his time, skills and hard work to complete the flooring and make sure it was finished before our next client was due to welcome her baby. We are incredibly thankful for your kindness and support.

This is just the beginning. There is more work to come, with further improvements planned around upcoming due dates. We will keep you updated as things progress.

Watch this space, we are so excited to continue creating a warm, calm and beautiful environment for families choosing Launceston Birth Centre.

We are excited to share work is underway!!!

Keep an eye out for more updates!

New fresh flooring at the Launceston Birth Centre.

Our History
The Launceston Birth Centre has been supporting women and families across Northern Tasmania since 1983. Established as a community-run, not-for-profit organisation, the Centre was founded in response to growing demand for greater choice in maternity care, including access to homebirth and continuity of midwifery care.

After two years of advocacy by local families, childbirth educators and midwives, the Birth Centre opened in July 1983 at the former Matron's Flat of the Nurses' Home, with the first baby born in August that year. Birth numbers grew quickly, with 4 births recorded in 1984, 18 in 1985 and 30 in 1986.

Over the years, the Birth Centre has operated from three locations: the Nurses' Home (1983–1990), the Queen Victoria Hospital Gynaecology Wing (1990–1996), and since 1996, its home at 14 Frankland Rise, Launceston. Throughout this time, it has remained one of Australia's longest-running independent, community-based birth centres.

The Centre's history has been shaped by the dedication of countless volunteers, committee members and midwives. Special recognition is given to founding midwife Barbara Purcell, respected midwives Elaine Smallbane and Terry Cartwright, and long-serving midwives Anna Holloway and Jean Vasic, whose commitment to women, babies and families helped build the Birth Centre's reputation for personalised, woman-centred care across generations.

Significant milestones include government funding through the Alternative Birthing Services Program in the early 1990s, the establishment of student midwife placements with the University of Tasmania, major facility upgrades through state and federal grants, the launch of the Birth Centre website in 2007, and the successful community effort to keep the Centre open in 2019 when closure seemed imminent.

For more than 40 years, the Launceston Birth Centre has supported thousands of women and families through pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period. Today, it continues to honour the vision of its founders by providing a welcoming space where women and families can access safe, evidence-based, relationship-focused midwifery care.

Launceston Birth Centre Monthly Morning Tea – Tuesday 30th June.

We’d love for you to join us!

Come along on Tuesday 30th June at 10:00am for our monthly catch-up with Birth Centre families, babies, and parents-to-be.

This is a relaxed and friendly opportunity to connect with other families, meet parents who have welcomed their babies with a private midwife at home or through the Birth Centre, and chat with others who are exploring their options and planning for the birth experience they hope for.

If our midwives aren't busy supporting a new family, they’ll often drop in for a cuppa and a chat too.

We'll be meeting at Door of Hope Cafe. If the weather is kind, we may head to a nearby park instead, so please SMS Carmel to RSVP and receive any location updates, or keep an eye on our social media pages for last-minute changes.

Everyone is welcome... bring your baby, your partner, a friend, or simply come along yourself. We look forward to seeing you there!

☕️ Launceston Birth Centre Monthly Get Together ☀️

We’d love to see you there!

Join us on Wednesday 27th May at 10am at the Door of Hope Cafe for our monthly catch up with Birth Centre families and parents-to-be.

This is a relaxed and welcoming space to meet other families, connect with those who have birthed with a private midwife whether at home or at the LBC and chat with others who are curious and exploring what kind of birth experience they’d like to plan and prepare for.

If our midwives aren’t busy welcoming a new arrival, they’ll often pop in too, making it a lovely opportunity to reconnect and have a chat.

If the weather is lovely, we may move to a nearby park instead so please SMS RSVP to Carmel who can let you know of any changes the day before or keep an eye on socials for any last minute updates.

Everyone is welcome bring a friend, your baby, or just yourself 💛

We’re excited to share an update from the Launceston Birth Centre 💛

Here are the photos of the two rooms that need new flooring.

Thanks to the incredible support at our annual celebration, we raised $3,641, which is being put directly towards replacing flooring in our bedrooms and birth house.

To complete both bedrooms properly, we need to lift the old carpet (not ideal for birth 😅) and replace the flooring in both rooms at the same time. This is important for the comfort, safety, and warmth of families using the space, and it will also be more cost-effective in the long run to complete both rooms together rather than returning for a second round of work after another fundraiser.

The total cost to complete both rooms is $4,770, which means we are currently $1,129 short.

We’re now reaching out again for a little extra support:

✨ Do you know a local flooring company who might be willing to sponsor the project or offer a reduced rate to help us complete both rooms together?

✨ Or would you like to contribute towards helping us bridge the gap?

To put it into perspective, if around 20 people donated $50 each, we would almost cover the remaining amount needed.

Every contribution, no matter the size, brings us closer to creating a safe, warm, and welcoming space for birthing families in our community 💛

Please DM us if you would like to contribute or know someone who might be able to help.

Thank you!