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CONFERENCE PROCEEDING
Midwives in the margins: Mentoring youth through education, health and connection
1
YFER Youth & Family Education Resources, Core of Life, Kariong, Australia
Eur J Midwifery 2026;10(Supplement 1):A9
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
Midwives have the unique ability to enhance educational and community systems to improve adolescent mental health. Young people face escalating challenges in mental health, educational engagement, and reproductive well-being. With rising school avoidance, widening health literacy gaps, and increasing mental health challenges, there is a clear need for a bold and innovative response. This presentation highlights this need and shows how positioning midwives not only as healthcare providers, but also as frontline educators, mentors, and mental health allies can improve outcomes.
DISCUSSION:
Reproductive health education can be a valuable tool in addressing mental health literacy by providing youth with a comprehensive understanding of health, reducing stigma, and equipping them with the skills to manage emotional wellbeing effectively. The Core of Life (COL) youth program, on the Central Coast, NSW Australia is a midwifery-led, evidence-informed reproductive health initiative delivered in schools. It engages young people via storytelling and role play while building essential life skills. Midwives bring clinical expertise and lived experience, creating trusted spaces for learning and dialogue. They also foster partnerships between education, health and community. This unique program has a culturally adaptive delivery method, easily reaching a diverse audience, importantly, our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
EVIDENCE WHERE RELEVANT:
Nearly 40% of Australians aged 16–24 have experienced a mental health disorder in the past year, highlighting the urgency of early, preventive education. Evaluations of COL implementation shows improved knowledge leading to increases in health literacy. It’s alignment with Gen Z’s focus on self-awareness and mental wellbeing further enhances its relevance and impact.
KEY MESSAGE:
By embedding midwifery expertise into educational and community systems, we can close health literacy gaps, strengthen emotional resilience, and empower the next generation. Midwives are not just birth workers—they are educators, advocates, vital architects of healthier, more equitable futures Breastfeeding - context
Midwives have the unique ability to enhance educational and community systems to improve adolescent mental health. Young people face escalating challenges in mental health, educational engagement, and reproductive well-being. With rising school avoidance, widening health literacy gaps, and increasing mental health challenges, there is a clear need for a bold and innovative response. This presentation highlights this need and shows how positioning midwives not only as healthcare providers, but also as frontline educators, mentors, and mental health allies can improve outcomes.
DISCUSSION:
Reproductive health education can be a valuable tool in addressing mental health literacy by providing youth with a comprehensive understanding of health, reducing stigma, and equipping them with the skills to manage emotional wellbeing effectively. The Core of Life (COL) youth program, on the Central Coast, NSW Australia is a midwifery-led, evidence-informed reproductive health initiative delivered in schools. It engages young people via storytelling and role play while building essential life skills. Midwives bring clinical expertise and lived experience, creating trusted spaces for learning and dialogue. They also foster partnerships between education, health and community. This unique program has a culturally adaptive delivery method, easily reaching a diverse audience, importantly, our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
EVIDENCE WHERE RELEVANT:
Nearly 40% of Australians aged 16–24 have experienced a mental health disorder in the past year, highlighting the urgency of early, preventive education. Evaluations of COL implementation shows improved knowledge leading to increases in health literacy. It’s alignment with Gen Z’s focus on self-awareness and mental wellbeing further enhances its relevance and impact.
KEY MESSAGE:
By embedding midwifery expertise into educational and community systems, we can close health literacy gaps, strengthen emotional resilience, and empower the next generation. Midwives are not just birth workers—they are educators, advocates, vital architects of healthier, more equitable futures Breastfeeding - context
| eISSN: | 2585-2906 |
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