Helen is a Lecturer in Midwifery at La Trobe Rural Health School in Bendigo. Helen has a clinical background in many models of care including caseload midwifery, and has worked in both high and low acuity obstetric settings. She also has experience in remote and Indigenous midwifery practice having been seconded for a period of time to work in the Northern Territory.

Helen is an Australian registered nurse, midwife and academic and current PhD Candidate. Her PhD is examining gestational weight gain, including a published systematic review and meta-analysis of using behaviour change psychotherapies to support healthy gestational weight change. Previous research projects have been published and presented nationally and internationally. Research exploring continuity of care experiences in midwifery preregistration programs, as part of the requirements of completing a Master of Midwifery, contributed to a positive change in national midwifery education standards.

Following lived experiences with complex pregnancies, baby loss, IVF and preterm birth, Helen has undertaken additional training in perinatal and psychological trauma, and has strong research interests in perinatal mental health/trauma and its impacts. Her combined lived and professional understanding of perinatal trauma provides a strong position to work with both health care consumers/survivors of perinatal trauma, and clinicians to build understanding and capacity to respond to the needs and preferences of individuals with trauma exposure.