Courtney is from Kangaroo Island in South Australia. She lives on a property about 30 minutes from her local hospital. When she fell pregnant she already knew about the great birthing facilities available on Kangaroo Island through her family and so this made her care choices easy.

Courtney had a fairly uneventful pregnancy up until the 2019 fires hit. She was due to give birth that summer and this natural disaster increased her stress levels in this last month of pregnancy. Thanks to the community spirit on the Island, Courtney always felt cared for. A local midwife even made a house visit when Courtney was in town, having evacuated to her sisters. Together they did some checks on Courtney and baby and this community access and support alleviated her stress during evac. Her son Hudson was born 8 days late. Courtney went into natural labour in the middle of the night. Her husband was her birth support person and with the local midwife and obstetrician present Courtney gave birth to her son Hudson in the same room her husband had been born in.

Her post partum was well supported by community health visits; however, when Courtney was ready to venture out - Co-vid19 hit and socialising was not possible. Courtney has had an eventful experience but taken it all in her stride. She shares the power of community and making connections and the support that can be ignited for pregnant and post partum women in rural communities.