The world needs One Million More Midwives.
That is the call to action today for International Day of the Midwife 2026. This year’s theme highlights the critical need to invest in midwifery education, leadership and research.
At Mater Research, our midwives play a vital role in transforming clinical care and driving discoveries that improve outcomes for mothers and babies around the world. Today, we are shining a light on two incredible midwives who look after Mater’s tiniest miracles during pregnancy and in the Neonatal Critical Care Unit (NCCU).
Jasmine Wood, Genesis Maternal Fetal Medicine Research Group
Jasmine Wood is a Research Midwife and Clinical Trial Coordinator with the Genesis Maternal Fetal Medicine Research Group. Coming from a family of healthcare workers, she graduated as a Registered Nurse in 2006 before finding her calling in midwifery two years later.
“Once I got the chance to learn about midwifery at university, it just felt like the right fit,” Jasmine said.
She has now been a registered midwife for 17 years.
A conversation with a colleague who was working on the iSEARCH clinical trial sparked Jasmine’s interest in transitioning into research.
The iSEARCH trial enrolled 3,200 labouring women between 2021 and 2024 across multiple Australian hospitals. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either sildenafil citrate—commonly known as Viagra—or a placebo and then monitored for 10 key perinatal outcomes related to intrapartum hypoxia, a condition where the baby receives insufficient oxygen during labour.
“She spoke with such enthusiasm about the positive impacts the trial could possibly have on how we care for women in labour and improve birth outcomes; it was infectious, and I wanted to be a part of it,” Jasmine said.
“I was lucky enough that Professor Sailesh Kumar was looking at expanding his team here at Mater, and I was able to be a part of the trial.”
Jasmine said clinical trials bridged the gap between evidence and practice, providing knowledge that drives change to improve care for women and babies.
“Working in clinical trials also means that I’m continually learning and get to be one of the first to share all the new and exciting ideas that are emerging,” she said.
Alongside her research role, Jasmine also works clinically as a midwife and neonatal nurse. She says her ultimate career highlights are the "serendipitous moments" when she runs into former patients and sees their children thriving.
“Hearing them share their reflections and experiences and witnessing their transition into parenthood or expanding families is incredibly meaningful. Being invited into such a significant time in people's lives, and being present for even a small part of that journey, is what makes midwifery so special.”
Jasmine is also part of the research team for the C*steroid clinical trial, which is now recruiting at Mater Mothers’ Hospital Brisbane and commencing soon at Mater Mothers’ Hospital Springfield.
“We also now have a dedicated research midwife for Springfield, Sophie Chadwick, who will be running the trial there and I’m excited that I am able to train her ahead of recruitment starting,” she said.
Jasmine said that being able to offer clinical trials to women at Queensland’s newest maternity hospital was incredibly exciting.
“I’m so happy we can offer these women the same access to innovative research and clinical trials as those birthing at our South Brisbane campus,” she said.
“It is a fantastic opportunity to expand our clinical trial footprint and ensure more families can be a part of shaping the future of maternity care.”
Letitia Miller, Mother and Baby Clinical Trials Team
While Jasmine focuses on maternal and fetal medicine during pregnancy, Letitia Miller supports families when their babies need extra care after birth.
Letitia is a Research Midwife with the Mother and Baby Clinical Trials Team in Mater Mothers’ Neonatal Critical Care Unit (NCCU). She graduated with a dual degree in Nursing and Midwifery in 2015, driven by a passion for women's health.
Her interest in research was first ignited during a summer scholarship at the Mater Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) under Dr Luregn Schlapbach. To support her transition from frontline care into the research space, she completed an Honours degree and a Graduate Certificate in Epidemiology.
Now approaching her 11th year in the profession, Letitia considers her current role to be her ultimate career highlight because it seamlessly blends her dual expertise.
“I never imagined I would be able to meaningfully combine both my nursing and midwifery backgrounds in a research role,” Letitia said.
“Earlier in my career, it felt like I had to choose one pathway, but this role has allowed me to integrate both, which has been incredibly rewarding.”
For Letitia, working full-time in clinical trials is about the immense scale of impact she can have on vulnerable infants.
“I’ve always valued clinical work, but research offers a different kind of impact,” Letitia said.
“In intensive care settings, I often felt I was helping one or two patients at a time. Through clinical trials, while the impact may not always be immediate or visible, the potential to improve care for hundreds or thousands of patients is incredibly powerful.
“Being part of generating and translating evidence into practice is what makes this work so meaningful to me.”
