Elaine Jefford

Biography

Dr Elaine Jefford, midwifery researcher, is an author and Editor in Chief for the International Journal of Childbirth: women's and Reproductive Health across the lifespan and employed as a senior midwifery lecturer at the University of the Sunshine Coast and Adjunct Associate Professor at Southern Cross University.

She has two books published by Routledge titled:

Empowering Decision-Making in Midwifery: A Global Perspective, (2020)

Global Midwifery Mentorship: Building Capacity Through Connection (Oct 2025)

Her work contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals

Research

Her research focus is within the field of midwifery decision-making and abdicating one's professional accountability, which underpins, midwifery education, practice and policy, leadership and mentorship as the relationship of one or all on midwifery decision-making can impact risk, safety and quality of care provision. A programme of research has led to strong collaborations in national and international research, service development work and practitioner training initiatives. Other research interests include birth trauma, and perinatal mental well-being, deteriorating women, childbirth for incarnated women and self-compassion and women's health such as menopause. She led the validation of the Australian Birth Satisfaction Scale‑Revised. This scale has been appraised by international opinion leaders and has been endorsed by the International Consortium of Health Outcome Measurement (ICHOM) as the measure of choice to assess ‘birth satisfaction’ worldwide within the ICHOM Standard Set for Pregnancy and Childbirth. She is now leading Partner‑Birth Satisfaction Scale‑Revised (P‑BSS‑R) Australian validation team.

Other

She has also been involved in national and international midwifery curriculum development and was a member of the Midwifery Accreditation Committee, which is part of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council. She is also Chair of the Trans-Tasman Midwifery Education Consortium.