We envisage a world where every woman is excited about the possibilities of birth. A world where individual needs of the Mother/Baby dyad are at the heart of all planning and decision-making processes throughout Australian maternity care services. A world where services uphold the physical, emotional, cultural and spiritual needs of each and every birthing woman and her family.

The B.E.A.R. Program, affectionately known as ‘The BEAR’, is a consumer-led initiative that focuses on advancing evidence-based, person- and family-centered maternity care through consumer advocacy, knowledge-dissemination, research and partnership projects.

B – Birth. All issues pertaining to birth and early parenting

E – Equity. This is about fairness; it’s about ensuring that each and every woman and her family receive the maternity care they need. This means that every aspect of the birthing individual is considered  - their physical, mental, emotional, cultural or spiritual needs – and that these are at the heart of every maternity care decision.  Our approach to any project, social response, educational program or partnership, integrates ethics, human rights and social justice principles to encourage maternity care systems to be more equitable and responsive to the individual needs of birthing women and their families.

A – Advocacy. The BEAR Program supports and educates consumer advisors and advocates to be effective maternity consumer representatives on ministerial committees and working groups. We also provide individual support to birthing women, who may have experienced adverse health outcomes due to inappropriate care. In these cases we advocate on behalf of women and work in partnership with services to co-identify ways in which care can be improved.

R – Research. The BEAR Program continues to independently research real time issues. We analyse and apply data to determine trends, tease out the narrative and then share this information with services to assist in creating best practice models for birthing women and their families. We also partner with institutions and health services to conduct joint research projects based on a quality and safety improvement approach.

The BEAR seeks to support and represent the rich diversity of families in Australia, to foster social equity and to support informed consumer/community engagement. As a consumer-focused program, we gather input from the community to promote critical assessment of current policies and work with service providers to develop maternity care programs that are equitable, sustainable and accountable to their users.

Our networks are made up of informed and experienced consumer advisors, peak consumer bodies, maternity care experts, sociologists, doulas etc, coming together to provide advocacy (both individual and group), information-sharing, research, and consensus building around issues related to perinatal health and early parenting for all Australian families.

Click below to learn more about The B.E.A.R. Program and our work.

Partnership Projects

The BEAR develops consumer-led educational courses for clinicians, hospital administrators and consumer groups designed to promote a deeper understanding of what it takes to effectively care for our rich and diverse population. Courses are adaptable to suit different audiences and can attract Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points for various care providers.

Power and Privilege Course

The BEAR offers a consumer-led program that helps clinicians and health workers to address potential individual and professional roadblocks to racial equity in maternity care. The Power & Privilege Course designed to create a safe space, where individuals can explore personal and institutional aspects of racism, recognise how these aspects can play out in birth outcomes, and how to critically examine assumptions and stereotypical beliefs.

Professional Advisory Group (PAG)

The BEAR welcomes input from clinical stakeholders to contribute to knowledge dissemination and  consensus building. To this end we have established a Professional Advisory Group made up of midwives, obstetricians, GPs, researchers, sociologists and psychologists – all interested in advancing evidence-based care through robust clinical and social discourse.

Consumer Advisors and Advocates

We acknowledge that improved health outcomes can be achieved by involving consumers and the community at many levels of service delivery, from planning of services to the interface of care. The BEAR is made up of consumer advisors across Australia who have experience in providing input and advice on a number of ministerial committees and working groups.