About the event

Join us for a thought-provoking webinar exploring maternity and infant health care in late 19th-century Sydney through a detailed historical study of the inner-city suburb of Glebe in 1890. This session reconstructs a historical community using NSW Birth and Death Register data to better understand who was present at births, how care was provided, and what maternal and infant outcomes can reveal about health and society at the time.

Participants will explore infant and maternal mortality data within this specific demographic, gaining insights into the lived experiences of families and the broader social and health determinants influencing outcomes. The study also situates maternity care within its historical context, highlighting its relevance to the development of nursing and midwifery practice in Australia.

Key Learning Objectives

• Understand the research methods employed in this study.
• Examine a late 19th century Sydney community (Glebe) from the perspective of maternal and infant health care.
• Identify those who were present at confinements in 1890 in Glebe and examine the infant and maternal mortality figures from the data collected.

About the speaker

Dr Lesley Potter FACN

Dr Potter is a retired registered nurse and midwife, who has worked in hospitals in NSW in varying roles - clinician, educator and in management. She has an eclectic academic background with a Bachelor in Theology, Masters in English Literature and a PhD in Nursing/Midwifery History. Dr Potter's research interests focus on the history of nursing, midwifery and the health care sector particularly in the colonial era.