Maternity Services

The Midwives at Gippsland Southern Health Service welcome you to our care and are more than happy to answer any questions you may have regarding our services.

 

For all enquiries and appointment bookings please call the Maternity Services Unit on
03 5667 5556.

 

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Midwife Antenatal Consultations

Please call the Maternity Services Unit to make all appointment bookings.  Antenatal consultations take place in the Maternity Services Unit; partners are most welcome and indeed encouraged to come along with you.

 

Booking-in

Appointments should be arranged between 12-16 weeks. This will take about one hour - the midwife will obtain pre-admission details and provide you with written information, as well as discuss what to expect and answer any questions you may have.

 

24 and 32 weeks

At these appointments, which will take about 1/2 an hour, the midwife will check your blood pressure, assess your baby’s growth and listen to your baby’s heart beat.  This is a good opportunity to talk to a midwife about your pregnancy and any concerns you may have, including any test results.  

 

37 weeks

This appointment will also take about 1/2 an hour.  The midwife will again check your blood pressure, assess your baby’s growth and listen to your baby’s heart beat, and check your baby’s position.  This is a good time to discuss your labour and birth expectations, your birth plan, and any concerns you may have.  It is also a good time to discuss feeding your newborn baby and what to expect in the first few days after birth.

 

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Antenatal Education

Facilitated by our midwives, our in-person classes provide an opportunity for you and your support person to learn all about labour, birth and early parenting as you prepare for this exciting new chapter of your life.   

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Domiciliary Postnatal Follow up

Once you return home with your baby a midwife will contact you and may arrange a home visit if you feel this is necessary. We maintain this contact for up to two weeks, however this is flexible depending on individual needs.

 

Our midwives work in consultation with your Maternal and Child Health Nurse during the early weeks you are home and we are able to consult your doctor on your behalf if required.

 

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Patient Information Sheets

A series of patient information sheets are available below. Please speak to your midwife if you require hard copies.

 

• ABC of a sick baby

• Avoiding posterior position of the baby

• Breastfeeding - frequently asked questions

• Caesarean birth exercises

• Dummies/pacifiers

• Epidural pain relief

• Expressing colostrum

• Group B streptococcus

• Ideas for comforting your baby

• Induction of labour

• Infant cues

• Labour pain management

• Morning sickness

• Perineal massage & pelvic floor exercises

• Signs and symptoms to tell your midwife about

• Sterile water injections

• The birth

• The exercise or birth ball