INTERSECTION OF MULTIPLE BIRTHS, BIRTH TRAUMA AND PERINATAL MENTAL HEALTH Connecting multiple birth parents with a diverse range of organisations that provide support
With
Danya McStein,
Clinical Team Manager
Gidget Foundation Australia
Maddison Granger,
Gidget Angel (patient)
SEGMENT
Filmed in Sydney & Tahmoor, NSW | March 2026
Aussie mum Maddi was suddenly thrust into motherhood when her twin girls arrived nine weeks early. Immediately after their traumatic birth, she was rushed into the operating theatre for emergency care. Like many families of multiples, her newborns were taken straight to the NICU, where they remained for two months.
Despite the intensity of her experience – the traumatic delivery, the post‑operative complications and the daily 3‑hour round trips to sit beside her babies in the NICU – not a single healthcare professional checked in on Maddi’s mental wellbeing.
Maddi’s story reflects a broader, often overlooked gap in perinatal care for parents of multiples. Mothers of multiples are five times more likely to experience depression and have triple the rates of anxiety compared to mothers of singletons
Danya McStein is a Clinical Team Manager at Gidget Foundation Australia. She has experience as a psychologist, board-approved supervisor and educator, with a background across clinical practice, wellbeing consulting, university teaching and training facilitation.
Danya spoke with Australian Health Journal about mothers expecting twins showing prenatal depressive symptoms, while postpartum, facing higher risks of clinical exhaustion and postpartum depression.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Maddison (“Maddi”) Granger, the mother of twin girls who experienced perinatal mental health issues following the traumatic birthing experience and a terrifying post-birth operating emergency. She lives in Tahmoor, a town in Wollondilly Shire of the Macarthur Region in NSW, and is a Gidget Angel, with Gidget Foundation Australia.
Source: Supplied and adapted
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The Northernmost Pharmacist in Australia
Carli Berrill is a Co-Owner and Pharmacist of two pharmacies in Far North Queensland, including one on Thursday Island in Torres Strait, which is the most northern pharmacy in Australia.
Her role with the Thursday Island Pharmacy is to provide essential health and pharmacy services to 15 communities, including remote islands south of Papua New Guinea. The role for the community is the important ‘constant’ in being a trusted and familiar healthcare professional.
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Shaping Health, Advancing Nursing through training, upskilling & scholarships
The Chief Executive Officer of Australian College of Nursing, Adjunct Professor Kylie Ward FACN spoke in depth with Australian Health Journal about:
The key recommendations in ACN’s pre-budget submission to Federal Government
The impact of legislation requiring a Registered Nurse (RN) at every residential aged care facility from 1st July 2023
Why scholarships in nursing leadership are important
Why ACN has recommended the Government fund 200 Pacific nurses in 15 nations for the online ACN postgraduate certification
The need for a multi-pronged approach that includes skilled migration in rebuilding the nursing workforceIn the lead up to the Australian Federal Budget in May 2023, Australian Health Journal reached out to peak health industry bodies to hear about their priorities, either noted in pre-budget submissions lodged with Federal Government in January 2023 or in recent forums such as the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce.
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Outstanding Achievement
George FaithfullGeorge has been in the medical device industry in a variety of roles for over 35 years including Sales, Marketing, Business Development, General Management, R&D, Clinical, Regulatory and Government Affairs. He has worked for Stryker in Australia, USA and across Asia.
