Women booking in for pregnancy care at the Women’s will be allocated to one of our four pregnancy care teams, based on where they live.
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Each of our teams is responsible for a geographical area of greater Melbourne. This facilitates a community-based approach to care, with each team encouraged to develop stronger links with its community, the local GPs, community-based support groups etc. The teams also provide some postnatal care in the local community rather than in the hospital.
All of the teams include midwives, specialist obstetricians, GP obstetricians, maternal fetal medicine sub-specialists, midwives, trainee midwives/doctors, a physician, a haematologist, a psychiatrist, social worker, physiotherapist and dietician. This means that the teams can offer appropriate care for women with normal pregnancies as well as women with complex clinical needs.
During pregnancy, women will attend a number of check-ups with health professionals. Women can choose to access this care in a variety of locations, for example:
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- GP Shared Care – in this option, women have most of their visits with their local GP, and 3-4 visits with their team in the hospital. The team then provides care during and after the birth.
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| - Community-based Care – in this option members of a team run clinics in community venues, which saves women from having to travel into the city. This is not suitable for all women, depending on health needs, but the team will advise whether this is an option. We currently run community clinics in Fawkner, Moonee Ponds and Kensington.
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| - Hospital-based care – in this option women come to the hospital to see members of their team. Teams offer a range of appointment times, including some evening clinics.
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Alongside the four teams, a small number of specialist clinics provide consultation and components of antenatal care for women with specific complex needs (e.g. diabetes, alcohol and drug issues, fetal management etc).
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Also see on this website:
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Shared Maternity Care Clinical Services Directory entry
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To access pregnancy care at the Women’s, women will need to ask their GP to fax a referral to us
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Fax: (03) 8345 3036 - GPs are asked to check the referrals web page
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