Sarah has worked as a registered nurse and midwife for 19 years at the Mater Hospital, working across many areas including birth suite, the postnatal ward and facilitating antenatal workshops. 

 A major focus of her career has been on antenatal education. In addition to re-writing the Mater Hospital’s antenatal workshop curriculum in 2017, for the past 10years she has been running Sarah Tooke Childbirth & Parenting Education, offering private, small group and in-home ante-natal workshops and later post-natal support services. 

In 2017, Sarah successfully implemented and currently continues to co-ordinate ‘The Preadmission Midwife Appointment Program’ – incorporating Gidget Foundation Australia’s Emotional Wellbeing Screening Program.  She has also provided training to other hospitals as a consultant to help implement their Emotional Wellbeing Programs.  She was the Co-Chief investigator and site coordinator for a large-scale research project to evaluate this program (partially funded via a Friends of the Mater grant), which resulted in 3 published research papers  in the ‘Australian & New Zealand Obstetrics and Gynaecology’ journal and ‘Midwifery’ journal in 2021.

Having seen firsthand the impact the Friends of the Mater has at the hospital, in January 2024 Sarah was delighted to take the opportunity to join the Foundation part time to help contribute to the ongoing success of the Foundation.

Sarah’s two boys were born at the Mater.