'Like a little baby heaven'

  For those of us who have borne children in the age of antental care, antibiotics and ultrasounds, it can be difficult to imagine the perils facing a pregnant woman in the early days of Western Australia. In general, childbirth was considered 'women's business', and labouring women the world over were usually attended to by other women, whose skills could vary wildly. For women in colonial times, this experience was further complicated by isolation; for such women, childbirth was often a 'lonely, painful, dangerous and frightening experience' (Carter and Carter).  It is difficult to ascertain maternal and infant mortality rates before the late 1800s, but it is likely that few families in the fledgling Colony were unaffected by miscarriage, stillbirth and infant death. Like their counterparts across the country, many women would have been affected by some form of pregnancy loss or the death of an infant or older child. The personal narratives of women living in...

FOR MANY WESTERN AUSTRALIANS King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women is a very special place. Established in 1916, 'King Eddies' has played a critical role in the history and development of women's and infants' health in Western Australia. Since its humble beginnings as a 20-bed hospital housed in the former Government Industrial School, it has been the birthplace of over 300 000 babies.   However, for some time it has been acknowledged that the needs of Western Australian women and their babies have surpassed the hospital's current location. It was of little surprise to many involved in women's health when the then-Premier of Western Australia, Mark McGowan, announced in 2019 that the government planned to close KEMH, redevelop the site, and construct a new women's hospital at a different location. Almost instantly anxious queries began appearing on social media pages and online news forums. What would become of the Memorial Garden, and the many ...