Women and Infants Research Foundation

WIRF is Western Australia's leading community-based research organisation dedicated to the fields of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Medicine.

Established in 1976, WIRF was originally named the King Edward Memorial Hospital Research Foundation. WIRF has a close working relationship with King Edward Memorial Hospital which is the sole tertiary level perinatal centre for the State of Western Australia and the School of Women’s and Infants’ Health of The University of Western Australia.

WIRF conducts research independently as well as in partnership with other organisations to fund, support and advocate for high quality scientific studies in the fields of women’s health and reproduction. Many fields are under investigation including the prevention of preterm birth, care of sick newborns, the establishment of a human milk bank and the management of menopause.

Medela has supported the WIRF in their partnership with The West Australian publication The Whole Nine Months magazine. This valuable resource explains how our world-first preterm birth prevention initiative has already significantly reduced the rate of preterm birth in Western Australia and how it hopes to provide a roadmap for other states and countries to achieve large-scale positive change.