Hi, I'm Dr Kirsten Small
Director of BirthSmallTalk
I am a retired specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist, and I work as an educator, writer, and researcher.
My vision is to promote and protect respectful maternity care for women, babies, families, and their care providers through education and research. I consider that the pathways to achieve respectful maternity care are:
- Promotion of physiological birth,
- Ensuring access to timely, appropriate, proven interventions when pathology arises,
- Supporting women’s decisional capacity, and
- The expansion of midwifery continuity of carer models of care.
My qualifications are:
- Bachelor of Medical Science, University of Queensland, 1989
- Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, University of Queensland, 1991
- Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists from 2001
- Masters of Reproductive Medicine, University of New South Wales, 2006
- Graduate Diploma of Health Research, Griffith University, 2015
- Doctor of Philosophy, Griffith University, 2020
I am a feminist and as such am critical of the patriarchal values embedded within healthcare systems, and particularly within obstetrics and gynaecology. I am mother to two lovely grown up people and their fur-babies. When I’m not writing or teaching, I’m probably reading, sewing, or gardening.
My Publications
Click each image for more information.
Birth Small Talk Blog
I post new blogs most weeks. Mostly I write about fetal heart rate monitoring, sometimes other things. All of it is FREE to access.
Acknowledgement of Country
I live and work on the lands of the Gubbi Gubbi people of Australia. I acknowledge their traditional ownership of these lands and waters, the sovereignty of which was never ceded. I pay my respects to all First Nations Elders, past and present. I extend my respect to all indigenous people of the world living on colonised lands.
None of this happens without help
Many people have assisted me along the way to get to where I am now. There are too many to list them all. I want to make special mention of my doctoral research supervisors Professor Emeritus Jenny Gamble, Professor Emeritus Jennifer Fenwick, and Professor Mary Sidebotham. Their support, guidance, and friendship has been and continues to be deeply meaningful for me.
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