Creating a Strong Start to Life for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families

Proud Mununjali woman, Tara Denaro is the first-ever Nursing and Midwifery Director, First Nations Women, Children, and Families (Identified) role.

The Strong Start to Life team has worked on establishing Ngarrama Yarns groups, a planned expansion for the maternity service at Redcliffe Hospital and a Letter of Intent with Koobara Kindergarten.

The team focuses on ensuring a strong start to life for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by working with families to co-design services that improve continuity of care models, supporting timely interventions for women, babies and children.

Tara Denaro, who leads the service, is moving into an expanded role as the first ever Nursing and Midwifery Director, First Nations Women, Children, and Families (Identified) role at Metro North Health.

A mother of three daughters, Tara has experienced the transformative impact of the Young Women’s Program during her first pregnancy and knows first-hand the positive impact culturally safe and responsive maternity care can make, not only for women but for the whole family.

“I strongly believe that improving maternity care, and care for our children and young people will improve longer term health and wellbeing outcomes as people get older. Women, children and families need to have their voices, their wants and needs, heard and respected.”

One of Tara’s top priorities in this newly established role is to ensure that the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders, women and children are reflected in the new Ngarrama Maternity Service at Redcliffe Hospital. This service, set to be introduced in early 2025, will provide a continuity of care Midwifery Group Practice model covering the antenatal, birthing, and postnatal journey, initiated through the Growing Deadly Families Strategy funding of $4.1 million for a period of five years.

Tara is committed to bringing together the three Ngarrama Maternity Services within Metro North Health to unite as one strong team, focused on the same goal of providing high-quality, culturally informed maternity care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.