Newborn Matilda Corrie, held by Dunedin midwife Cheryl Smith, and her mother, Tracey Woodford, were presented with a storybook to mark International Day of the Midwife at the Queen Mary Maternity Centre in Dunedin yesterday.
Matilda was the first baby born at the centre yesterday, at 4.40am.
Ms Woodford, who moved to Dunedin recently from Melbourne, said the midwife maternity system worked much better in New Zealand than in Australia.
Her two older children were born in Australia. Here, it was much more personal. Mothers dealt with a midwife and a backup midwife.
In Australia, they dealt with a team of 10 midwives and did not know during pregnancy which one would preside at the birth.
College of Midwives Otago region co-chairwoman Heather LaDell said in New Zealand the day was about celebrating midwives and the fact women had good access to them.
