The Embrace Story
Nikita, Cassie and Jo have come together to share their over 40 years of combined midwifery experience to bring a new type of midwifery care to the Adelaide Region, including the Fleurieu Peninsula, Adelaide Hills and surrounds.
The team wholeheartedly believe in women-centred care and supporting women to have empowering pregnancies, birth experiences and start to life with their new baby. We have a strong focus on evidence-informed care, with the woman at the centre of her own care.
Cassie Stichel
Director - Endorsed Midwife
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Cassie’s journey as a Midwife began more than two decades ago, inspired by the empowering birth of her first child. It was during this profound experience and her transition into motherhood that Cassie realised the importance of informed choices and the need for continuity support. This has driven her deep seeded desire for supporting women in making choices that align with their preferences and values.
Drawing on her wealth of knowledge and experience in various healthcare settings, including public and private hospitals, and in her role as an educator, Cassie provides a holistic approach to birthing in private practice.
Cassie lives on the beautiful South Coast with her husband and three children.
Nikita Gardiner
Director - Endorsed Midwife
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Nikita began her career as a midwife at Women’s and Children’s Hospital and quickly moved into their midwifery continuity model. During this time she learnt invaluable skills in providing holistic and autonomous midwifery practice. She also felt the restrictions of the system and began investigating other pathways, including completing her Masters in Primary Maternity Care.
Nikita was also busy growing her family, adding her two children to the mix! Having experienced two different models of pregnancy care, it was solidified that offering private midwifery services, especially homebirth services was where she was drawn. It was right before her son’s (incredible) home birth that Nikita started offering full continuity services and hasn’t looked back since! She was lucky that Jo joined the team in 2020 to continue to grow the services they provided.
Jo Bourne
Director - Endorsed Midwife
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Jo became a midwife in 2009, following years of experience as nurse working in WA. She moved to South Australia to work at Flinders Medical Centre in the Midwifery Group Practice for over 9 years. During this time she gave birth to her three beautiful babies at home.
Jo completed her Endorsement to become a private midwife in 2020. She joined the Embrace Midwifery and Breastfeeding Service team at this time, offering homebirth to women in her area.
Jo is passionate about sharing her extensive midwifery knowledge, now expanding her services, moving into acuneedling and belly binding.
Larissa Wundersitz
Endorsed Midwife
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Larissa Wundersitz is an Endorsed Midwife with over twenty years of experience supporting people through every stage of their reproductive and sexual health journey. She has worked in a wide range of maternity and sexual health settings, including homebirth in both South Australia and Victoria.
With a gentle, person-centred approach, Larissa is passionate about reproductive choice, autonomy, and inclusive care. Having had home births herself, and now having grandchildren she believes everyone deserves access to midwifery care throughout their entire reproductive life.
Supporting choice, connection and confidence in every stage of reproductive health, Larissa currently offers antenatal and postnatal continuity care, sexual health care such as STI and cervical screening, pregnancy testing and options counselling, early medical abortion (MS-2 step) and contraception options, prescriptions and insertion.
Danni Toonen
Endorsed Midwife
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Danni joins Embrace Midwifery Services with a wealth of knowledge and experience. Previously working in a continuity of care group-practice setting, enabled her to work 1:1 with clients and families, relishing the relationships and building on her experience, to assist clients to navigate their options and hold space for their desired births. Danni's introduction to private practice came in 2021, when attending home births as a second midwife and while completing her post-graduate certificate in Midwifery Diagnostics & Prescribing with Edith Cowan University in 2022.
She began her career as a nurse in 2003, working predominantly in a metropolitan Emergency Department and Paediatric Emergency Department. Alongside nursing, Danni worked as a Mother Carer, Doula, Childbirth Educator and Facilitated Doula training. Evidence based, individualised care is her priority, aiming to have clients feel seen, heard, valued and most importantly feel physically and emotionally safe.
Danni is mother to three amazing boys and has had the pleasure of sharing her life with her high school sweetheart.
Danni predominantly services the Northern Suburbs, Metro and Hills areas.
Carly Ford
Endorsed Midwife
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I am a Wiradjuri woman working on Kaurna land, an Endorsed Midwife and Internationally Certified Lactation Consultant offering personalised antenatal/postnatal care, and lactation support using a strength-based holistic cultural lens. I believe birth is a transformative time for a woman and her family, and I am committed to walking alongside you and your family’s journey through pregnancy, birth and beyond using evidence-based care. I have a special interest in perinatal mental health and your baby’s growth and development in their first 2,000 days of life.
Chloe Harris
Endorsed Midwife
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Chloe has worked as a midwife in the public maternity system in both Adelaide and Melbourne. In 2021, she welcomed her first baby, which was when she truly understood firsthand the impact of continuity of midwifery care. Since then, Chloe has been working toward attaining her endorsement, which she achieved in 2024, along with completing her Masters in Primary Maternity Care.
Chloe is passionate about providing individualised, evidence-based care to families. She believes in shared decision-making and ensures families receive unbiased, evidence-based information to guide all of their decisions.
Ashlee Wallis
Endorsed Midwife
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2025 marks my lucky number 7th year as a Midwife, and what better way to celebrate then by joining the Embrace Midwifery team.
I am passionate about providing safe care to women and families throughout their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum journeys. My approach centres on education, ensuring that every family is empowered with the knowledge and support they need to make informed decisions.
With a deep passion for breastfeeding, I am committed to supporting and guiding mothers through their breastfeeding experiences, helping them navigate challenges and celebrate successes. This has led me on my own journey towards becoming a Lactation Consultant (watch this space)
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Empowering women in pregnancy and childbirth
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Frequently Asked Questions
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As soon as you know that you are pregnant! It is never “too soon” to start talking with a private midwife. In South Australia there are only a small number of private practice midwives with a limited number of birthing spots available.
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No, you don’t need a Doctor to confirm your pregnancy. Your private midwife can order any blood tests and ultrasounds that you would like.
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Medicare rebates are available for antenatal and postnatal appointments. The amount of the rebate will depend on your threshold level. Please contact Medicare directly to confirm this amount.
Medicare Australia
https://www9.health.gov.au/mbs/search.cfm?rpp=10&q=&qt=&cat1=251&cat2=530&cat3=&adv=&&start=1%20
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Some private health insurance agencies provide cover for private midwifery services. You will need to contact your insurance provider
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Homebirth Australia https://www.homebirthaustralia.org/
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We kindly ask for at least 24 hours’ notice if you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment.
Cancellations with less than 24 hours' notice, or failure to attend your appointment, will result in a $50 cancellation fee.
If you want to make another appointment, you can only book it once the outstanding fee is paid.
Fees may be waived in cases of genuine emergency or illness, at our discretion.
This policy helps us respect our midwives' time and offer appointments to other families in need of care.