meet deanna ward

Believing there was a better way to support women on their journey to motherhood, Deanna developed the national ‘Know Your Midwife’ (KYM) program,  earning her national recognition as a finalist for Nurse of the Year in the 2018 HESTA Australian Nursing & Midwifery Awards. 

The KYM program offers mums-to-be holistic care with their midwife and obstetrician throughout pregnancy. The KYM program is offered by private health care centres, and focuses on the promotion of continuity-of-care for new mums. Through regular appointments with their midwife and obstetrician during their pregnancy and postnatally the program helps women form meaningful and trusted relationships.

Deanna is described by her peers as a ‘midwifery innovator’ and is nationally recognised as a speaker, researcher and endorsed midwifery clinician.

Through the development of the KYM program, Deanna has transformed how support and individualised care is offered to women during and after pregnancy. A first of its kind in the private health care sector, the KYM program has provided a blueprint for other service providers to implement similar programs.