‘RISE Birthing on Country’ project for Mookai

January 27, 2026

Mookai Rosie has been selected as a pilot site for the ‘RISE Birthing on Country’ project, led by The Molly Wardaguga Institute for First Nations Birth Rights.

Mookai Rosie team members met with representatives from The Molly Wardaguga Institute this week to move forward with our exciting new partnership.
As a participating site, Mookai Rosie will help pilot the project’s short course and toolkit, which have been designed to improve key maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) indicators for First Nations women.

 

The project aims to develop practical, evidence-based resources to support hospital maternity services and ACCHOs in implementing and sustaining Birthing on Country services across Australia. The goal is to bring together and synthesise evidence-informed materials on how to deliver Birthing on Country services that are safe, acceptable, feasible, and sustainable.

It’s very exciting for us to partner with The Molly Wardaguga Institute, leaders in First Nations maternal, newborn and child health. Together, more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies and their families will have the best start in life!

The Institute for First Nations Birth Rights was established as a strategic investment by Charles Darwin University and is named in honour of Molly Wardaguga (1938-2009). Molly represents the mothers (and grandmothers) who hold sacred our birthing practices from across millennium and celebrates birthing as the first ceremony – the first opportunity for baby to be connected to country, culture, and community.

You can read more about The Molly Wardaguga Institute and the ‘RISE Birthing on Country’ project here – Closing the gap for Indigenous health | Birthing on Country

THANK YOU to Molly Wardaguga Institute team members Isabella Garti, Yvette Roe and Anekka Bowman for visiting us! We’re excited to share more about our work with The Molly Wardaguga Institute soon!

THANK YOU to Molly Wardaguga Institute team members Isabella Garti, Yvette Roe and Anekka Bowman for visiting us! We’re excited to share more about our work with The Molly Wardaguga Institute soon!

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