Ros Capper and Pam Skelton, 1989

In May 1979 consumer Ros Capper of Wellington, New Zealand, attended the Birth and Being Congress in Melbourne, Australia. She was funded by the Mental Health Foundation to do so; her report to the funders can be read here.

Ros, initially assisted by midwife Pam Skelton, had begun work in 1979 to establish an out-of-hospital birth centre. This idea gained momentum with the announcement of closure of the Wellington St Helens Hospital. In 1980 a public meeting was held and Birth & Beyond began. Read more…