Women and babies can only achieve a meaningful place at the policy-making table by informed consumer representation through a supporting organisation that underpins their collective voice. Drawing on the skills of our experienced consumer representatives and the diverse experiences of the groups that we represent, Childbirth Australia is able to provide broadly based and well-researched consumer representation that reflects the needs and aspirations of families across Australia.

Access to trustworthy and up-to-date information is essential not only to individual decision making, but to strengthening the voice of consumers. Childbirth Australia encourages and supports networking and sharing knowledge about high-quality, appropriately evidence-based care.

Since the late 1990s, many professionals and policy-makers in health care have emphasised how crucial high-quality research evidence is to driving change. Known sometimes as knowledge ‘transfer or translation’, knowledge dissemination involves a dynamic process of sharing information to make health services and products more effective. Knowledge Dissemination involves researchers who make ‘knowledge’ through their investigations sharing findings with knowledge users, whether policy-makers, clinicians or health consumers.

Childbirth Australia offers a location through which a range of interested people can access opinions, research evidence and follow contemporary debates about maternity care.

The work of Childbirth Australia is aligned with other organisations that share our commitment to promoting more personal and human-focused health care, whether in Australia or in other countries Some operate in the wider field of 'patient and family-centred care' (Planetree, Australian Institute for Patient and Family Centred Care), others in women's health care and specifically birth (e.g. BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre, Canada).

Of particular importance to the work of Childbirth Australia are the principles enshrined in the 'Transforming Maternity Care' initiatives of Childbirth Connection in the US and the '10 Steps to Optimal Maternity Services' of the International MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative.

In our work, the members of Childbirth Australia are guided by the principles of the International MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative (IMBCI): 10 Steps to Optimal Maternity Services.