ACU and Mater launch midwifery research unit

ACU and Mater launch midwifery research unit

Australian Catholic University (ACU) and Mater Medical Research Institute (MMRI) recently launched their collaborative Midwifery Research Unit (MRU).

The newly established unit aims to strengthen linkages across the institutions, become international leaders in midwifery and related research, and advance maternal and infant health care for mothers and their babies.

Professor Sue Kildea, Director of the MRU and Chair of Midwifery at ACU and MMRI, said the launch signifies the beginning of an important initiative.

“We undertake our research at one of Australia’s busiest maternity hospitals, Mater Mothers’ Hospital, and are dedicated to conducting the highest quality research and providing training and education in these areas,” she said.

The event also launched a recently published book by the Deputy Director of the MRU and Senior Research Fellow, Dr Helen Stapleton.

The publication, Surviving Teenage Motherhood. Myths and Realities, focuses on the social context of teenage pregnancy.

“This book discusses the ‘real life’ experiences of young mothers, whose stories are generally under-reported and often misrepresented or sensationalised,” said Dr Stapleton.

The book makes a unique contribution to the sociology of the adolescent female body at the convergence of two major life cycle transitions: adolescence and motherhood, and will interest clinicians, academics and students across a broad range of social science disciplines.