Charlotte Brotherton-Altree

What's your name and role at MAMA?

I'm Charlotte, a MAMA midwife

What inspired you to work at MAMA?

When I was 15, I watched my own mum give birth to my baby brother at home in our loungeroom. It was one of the most profound experiences of my life, and it opened my eyes to the world of birth and midwifery. I remember looking at the midwife and thinking ‘I want her job when I grow up!’, and so ensued my own journey to becoming a midwife.

What are you passionate about at MAMA?

I believe that women and birthing people can meet their most fierce and empowered selves through birth, and that the love, care and safety of a known midwife can be an integral person in achieving this. The trajectory of who I am as a woman, daughter and midwife was forever changed by my introduction to birth, and my hope is that everyone on their birthing journey can have this powerful initiation into parenthood.

What are your favourite things about your role?

I got my first midwifery job and entered the hospital system as an excited but naïve new graduate. I quickly discovered that the wonderful experience I witnessed as a teenager was the exception and not the rule. I found the work ethically challenging and misaligned, and I considered leaving the profession. It’s funny looking back at this time before MAMA, because today I find my current work incredibly fulfilling and completely in line with my expectations around family focussed holistic care, and I am honoured to be working in a space that has not once made me doubt my choice of profession.