Rotary Melbourne Lunch 18 Feb

Weekly Rotary Lunch 18 February 2026

Speaker Professor Jeremy Oats AM, Honorary (Professorial Fellow), Melbourne School of Population and Global Health

Topic Freebirthing: Pros and Cons

Time/Venue 12.30 for 12.50 - 2.00pm at No35 Restaurant Sofitel Melbourne & by ZOOM  

Jeremy Oats is an obstetrician and gynaecologist whose career has spanned academia, clinical care and medical administration.

Born in Adelaide and educated in Geneva and Hobart, he graduated from the University of Adelaide in 1968. After early hospital appointments and more than two years of clinical service in Papua New Guinea, he completed postgraduate specialist training in Nottingham, United Kingdom, returning to Australia in 1978. He has held senior academic and clinical appointments in Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory. He has been involved in the Rotary funded maternity education refresher programme in Timor Leste.

In his role as Chair of the Victorian Consultative Council on Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity, and Chair of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare National Maternity Data Development Advisory Committee, he has been involved in the review of pregnancy outcomes for mothers and their offspring in both Victoria and nationally.

Freebirthing

Freebirth is defined as when a woman makes a conscious decision to give birth without the support of a registered health professional, such as a midwife or doctor registered with the Australian Health Practitioners Regulatory Agency (AHPRA).

A recent maternal death associated with a freebirth has highlighted the issues, including the risks to both mother and baby, that can be associated with such births when complications arise.

Currently over 95% of births in Australia take place in hospital, the remainder in the home the majority of which are under the supervision of registered health professionals. These births are mostly of low-risk pregnancies and have lower rates of interventions and adverse outcomes compared with those giving birth in hospital.

The motivation for selecting a non-hospital place of birth, can include poor experience during a prior birth, often with perception of loss of autonomy, suboptimal communication, particularly if an operative intervention occurred. 

The challenge for maternity service providers is to address these concerns.

Join us for lunch, be informed and form connections.