Fiona Wernke

My Story

I grew up on the Mornington Peninsula, and from a very young age knew that Midwifery was in my future. 

Over my schooling career, the love of babies never changed. Every time we visited a family member or friend in hospital, I would drag all of the family off to see the babies in the nursery window.

So as high school drew to a close, the Bachelor of Midwifery was my next step, falling more in love with my chosen career as the 3 years of studies passed. 

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As a student midwife, I was exposed to a variety of community and hospital based settings, and was able to meet & work with women and their families from all walks of life. From there I slotted into mainstream hospital life, without blinking an eye. 

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Over the next 7 years I worked through full context of midwifery care. From pregnancy care, labour and birth, into the postnatal ward and then at home, as well as moving into semi management, running the postnatal ward as an in-charge midwife. 

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Over this time, I had the odd crisis of confidence. Often thinking I wasn’t giving women enough of my time, although I had little more to give. It was something I pondered as life continued and I met my partner in 2014. 

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Over the next few years, I worked and fell pregnant with our two boys. Both were born in the caseload program at Casey Hospital. I had planned on a homebirth for my first but was ruled out, after being diagnosed with gestational diabetes, despite staying diet controlled. So, I changed to a planned hospital birth, in which I was supported and listened to. 

I repeated the planned hospital birth with my second birth, after again being diagnosed as a gestational diabetic. 

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What my experience cemented for me, and the Covid pandemic that followed, was that the mainstream hospital system was no longer for me. 

In 2021, I applied and completed my prescribing for midwives unit, so I could attain my endorsement as a midwife, and move into private practice. 

So, I am now an Endorsed Midwife, with over 15 years experience across the midwifery continuum. 

I have set up my business “Intrinsic Midwifery” to provide holistic pregnancy and postnatal care to women, in their own homes, all whilst educating them & their families, and showing them the mighty power within every mother to be. 

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I chose the name Intrinsic Midwifery, as intrinsic means ‘belonging naturally; essential’, and I believe in women, and their innate ability to birth their own babies.

I now have both a Provider and Prescriber number through Medicare, meaning I’m able to order relevant and requested screening and diagnostics tests throughout pregnancy, and into the postnatal period.

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