No Births on Monday tells the story of midwifery services in rural and remote areas of Australia from the days before European settlement until the present. While the focus is on the south and west of New South Wales, the history ranges beyond the narrative of the accomplishments of individual midwives to consider the sorts of services formerly available to expectant mothers, and those sometimes lesser which they can now access. The book looks at the importance of early training midwifery hospitals and Tresillian nurses. It pays tribute to individual midwives and small community-based 'lying-in' hospitals. It chronicles the growth of concern with infant nutrition. It considers some of the myths and legends which surrounded pregnancy and childbirth. No Births on Monday asks the hard questions about where maternity services are going in Australia in the twenty-first century, and makes a plea for decision makers to listen to the needs and concerns of the women they are supposed to serve.
