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shared maternity care at the women's

Shared Maternity Care at the Royal Women's Hospital

This fact sheet, including the Schedule of Visits, is available as a print friendly pdf in: English, Arabic, Vietnamese

What is Shared Maternity Care?

Shared Maternity Care means that during your pregnancy you can see the same general practitioner (GP), obstetrician or community midwife for most of your pregnancy visits with some visits at the hospital. Together, the hospital and your chosen community doctor/midwife will ‘share your care’. The birth of your baby is at the Royal Women’s Hospital (the Women’s) in Parkville.

Why choose shared care?

Shared Care is a popular choice for women who are healthy with a normal pregnancy.

In choosing Shared Care you:

have most of your care close to your home or work

see the same doctor who gets to know you and your baby

build a relationship with your doctor and continue to see them after your baby is born

have fewer hospital visits

Shared Care doctors/midwives may charge some out of pocket fees. This amount varies. Please discuss any questions about this with your chosen doctor/midwife.

The Women’s also has community clinics. If it is more convenient, you can choose to attend your
hospital appointments at one of these instead of coming into the hospital. Shared Care is also available if you attend the Hospital Community Clinics. These clinics are located in Fawkner, Kensington and Moonee Ponds. For more information about the community clinics visit www.thewomens.org.au/CommunityClinics.

You may choose to stop Shared Care at any time during your pregnancy by contacting the Shared Care Coordinator. If you develop problems during your pregnancy Shared Care may not be suitable and your Shared Care may be ceased.

How does shared care work?

Your chosen doctor/midwife must be accredited with the Women's to provide Shared Care.

You can still do Shared Care if your usual GP is not accredited. The hospital will help you find an accredited community doctor/midwife. Visit www.thewomens.org.au/AccreditationAffiliatesList for more information.

At your first appointment at the hospital with a doctor, you will be given the choice of Shared Care if you are healthy with a normal pregnancy. Please let the hospital doctor/midwife know if you would like to do Shared Care.

When you start Shared Care, the Shared Care Coordinator will provide you with a folder containing:

your pregnancy record
the appointment details of your hospital visits
a schedule of visits for your pregnancy care (please note that the hospital visits will be made for you, but you will need to organise your own local doctor/midwife appointments)
forms for any tests to be performed at the Women’s

It is important to bring this folder to all your shared care doctor/midwife appointments and hospital appointments, including when you come in to have your baby. This is how the doctors and midwives communicate about your care.