Did you know there are different care options for pregnancy?
Before your pregnancy booking appointment, please think about the options of care that might suit you best.
We can’t always accommodate your preferences, however we will work with you to find a time, location and model of care to meet your needs. If you have particular health concerns, you may not be eligible for some of these options.
Things to consider before your pregnancy booking appointment:
- Location – The Women’s runs pregnancy clinics at the hospital and at three community health centres (Footscray, Strathmore and Fawkner). Regardless of the clinic location, your care will be provided by Women’s staff and your baby will be born in hospital. Many women find that our community clinics are easier to get to and more convenient than our hospital clinics. If choice of location is very important to you, Shared Maternity Care could be a good option, as you can choose where you have your pregnancy check-ups.
- Days of the week – Our clinics run on different days depending on the location and the type of care you need. Be sure to let the midwife at your pregnancy booking appointment know if there is a particular day that doesn’t suit you.
- Time of day – We offer clinics on weekday mornings and afternoons, and an additional Tuesday evening clinic. Be sure to let the midwife at your pregnancy booking appointment know if there are any particular times that you are unable to attend clinic.
The Women’s offers a number of different pregnancy care models, including:
Shared Maternity Care
If you choose Shared Maternity Care, you can decide which of our 750 Shared Maternity Care affiliates – who are accredited GPs, midwives or obstetricians – you would like to see for pregnancy care. You might choose somebody close to home, close to work, or a clinician you already know. Most of your appointments will be in the community but your baby will born in hospital. You can still access other specialists and allied health professionals if needed. The Women’s has offered this trusted model of care for over three decades, and it is a popular choice for many women. Find out more about Shared Maternity Care.
Team Maternity
With Team Maternity, your care will be provided by one of our multidisciplinary teams (Blue, Green or Yellow team). These teams of midwives, doctors, physiotherapists and dieticians work together to provide all of your care during pregnancy, labour, birth, postnatal stay and home visit. Your care will be organised to ensure you see the right type of clinician for your visits. Typically, most of the care is provided by midwives, with some pregnancy checks by a hospital doctor.
Midwives In Small Teams (MIST)
Our MIST option works in a similar way to Team Maternity, but with a smaller number of midwives involved in your care. This means there is a greater likelihood of seeing a familiar face during your care.
Caseload / COSMOS
With Caseload, one midwife (and back-up midwives) takes care of you during your pregnancy, labour, birth, postnatal stay and home visit. This means you can build a relationship with the same midwife during your care and still access other specialists at the hospital if needed. Due to the popularity of Caseload, you will need to check with the midwife at your pregnancy booking appointment to see if this option is available. It is not available in all locations.
Homebirth: The Women's has a homebirth program that is part of the Caseload Model of Care. We have a limited number of homebirth spaces available for women with a low-risk pregnancy who meet strict eligibility criteria. Find out more: Home birth.
Baggarrook Caseload
Baggarrook means ‘woman’ in the Woiwurrung language. Our Baggarrook team provides maternity care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. One midwife (and back-up midwives) takes care of you during your pregnancy, labour, birth, postnatal stay and home visit. The Baggarrook midwives work closely with our Aboriginal Health team from Badjurr-Bulok Wilam, to provide you with the care and support that you need. Our Baggarrook midwives are ‘on call’ and you can contact them if you have any questions or concerns. Find out more about Baggarrook Caseload.
Private Maternity Care
The Women’s also provides maternity care to women as private patients using their private obstetrician or midwife. For more information contact our Private Patient Liaison Team (03 8345 2929).
Specialist Maternity Clinics
Some women need additional or specialised care during their pregnancy. We have clinics to look after women with more complex pregnancies, or conditions that may impact on their baby or pregnancy. These specialist clinics include:
- Recurrent Miscarriage Clinic – providing care to women who have suffered three or more consecutive miscarriages (find out more)
- Women with Individual Needs (WIN) Clinic – providing care for pregnant women who have a learning difficulty, acquired brain injury, or intellectual, physical or sensory disability (find out more)
- Women’s Alcohol & Drug Service (WADS) – providing care for pregnant women with complex substance use and alcohol dependence (find out more)
- Young Women's Health Program – providing care and education for pregnant and parenting women aged 19 and younger (find out more)
- Multiple Birth Clinic – providing care to women and their families who are expecting more than one baby: twins, triplets or more (find out more).