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Pregnancy Care2022-05-13T10:03:39+10:00

Pregnancy Care

Now that you’re pregnant; make it a number one priority to look after yourself and your unborn baby. There are decisions to be made and many questions to ask. But how do you find the answers that are right for you?

To get you off to the right start we’ve put together helpful information on pregnancy care. We also explain the choices available to you to ensure that you have a happy and healthy pregnancy. Each pregnancy is unique and you have the right to be involved in all decisions affecting you and your baby. A good relationship with your maternity care provider can make a big difference in planning your pregnancy care. This page contains information to assist you in choosing the maternity service and practitioner that’s right for you.

Pregnancy Care Resources

On our website we’ve put together a number of pregnancy care resources for you

Pregnancy Care Articles

Pregnancy Care

What is a midwife, and could they be a better choice for your pregnancy care?

Parenthood is full of decisions. One of the first is: “Who will care for me during pregnancy and birth?” One of your options is a midwife or team of midwives – but what is a midwife, and what sets midwives apart from other care providers? What is a midwife, exactly? Midwives are experts in normal pregnancy and birth. They see childbearing as a healthy and precious process and important work. One of the things that makes the title of

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Ask the expert: Carolyn Hastie on continuity of midwifery care

With four decades of experience as a midwife, researcher, birthing service manager and educator, Carolyn Hastie has plenty of examples of how continuity of care benefits women. Carolyn shared with Pregnancy Birth and Beyond the physiological benefits of the safety and trust created by having one midwife throughout pregnancy and birth. What are some of the most important outcomes of continuity of midwifery care for mothers and babies? I think that it's really clear that relationship-based care is awesome.

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Ask the expert: When a healthy baby is NOT the only thing that matters, how to get the care you trust

Every expectant parent wants a healthy baby, but a positive birth experience is also important. So how do you find a care provider you trust to help you make informed decisions and support your wishes? We spoke to Sunshine Coast birthing educator and maternal health advocate Alecia Staines. Often women hear, "The most important thing is that you're healthy and you have a healthy baby". But, to what extent is it true? It's 100% true, provided we incorporate a

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How important is the nuchal translucency test in the 12-week scan?

The nuchal translucency test is part of the 12-week ultrasound scan, sometimes called first-trimester screening. Part of the scan involves measuring a specific part of the baby’s neck (the nuchal translucency). At the same time, the 12-week scan also gives us a chance to: check for twins (or triplets!) measure the baby’s heartbeat check the location of the placenta pick up some other early problems. As a bonus, you get to see your baby and often find out the

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Navigating COVID-19 and pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding care

The new coronavirus worries us all. But if you face both COVID-19 and pregnancy, you might have more worries than others. Researchers are learning about coronavirus and pregnancy and how the pandemic affects new mothers. COVID-19 and pregnancy - effects on women and new babies First, let's go over the key info on coronavirus and pregnancy. Many of the annoying colds you get are common coronaviruses. However, some members of the coronavirus family cause severe breathing problems. This includes

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What is a Midwife?

The word 'midwife' is from Anglo-Saxon words; mid = with, wif = woman. In English 'midwife' means someone who provides continuity of care to a woman and her baby from pregnancy through the postpartum period. In French a midwife is called 'sage-femme' , a wise woman providing this continuity of care. International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Definition of a Midwife A midwife is a person who has successfully completed a midwifery education programme that is duly recognized in the

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Six Reasons to Choose a Private Midwife

Few women realise they have the option to choose a private midwife for their care. Pregnancy and childbirth is a highly personal and emotional experience. Feelings, hopes, fears and physical and practical needs can all affect your pregnancy and the birth of your baby. The standard of the medical care and support you receive, and your confidence in your health care professional, can directly impact on your health. Additionally, your chosen health professional impacts your state of mind and

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Why Choose a Midwife?

I grew up hearing many horror birth stories, including my mother’s, and had little trust in my body or the birth process. I grew up thinking that once I was pregnant, I would see an obstetrician and I assumed he would tell me that I was like my mother and my pelvis was just not the right shape for babies, and I would have to have my babies via caesarean. And I was okay with that. It sounded much

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The Life of a Midwife

Life as a midwife is a nine-year-old girls perspective on midwifery. Lia's mum is a midwife and she shares a poem about midwives. Lia's Words about the life as a midwife I don’t know how it feels to be a midwife but they can see extraordinary things such as breech birth and the joy that only the birth of a baby brings. Midwives give up their time which sometimes can be their sleep time to make

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Granny Smith – Not just about apples

 Most people think of apples when they think of Granny Smith and most people think of a very worried John Howard when they think of Bennelong – but on the 20th of October, in my local area of Bennelong, the annual Granny Smith festival became the source of some startling new information about a local heroine. The original Granny Smith was, in fact, more famous in her lifetime for being the local midwife than she was for her now internationally

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How to Find a Midwife

Perhaps you knew from the start that you wanted your own midwife. Perhaps it has been a long process of weighing the pros and cons. But one way or another you have decided that having your own midwife is a priority for your pregnancy care and the birth of your baby. You have made a great choice! However, one not so simple question remains - how to find a midwife? Like making any other consumer decision, whether it’s choosing

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Overview of Private Midwifery

For centuries midwives have worked among their communities providing care to women. Historically midwives have held a philosophy of care based on the belief that pregnancy is, basically, a healthy process and a normal part of life, growth and development. It is this belief that guides the way in which midwives in private practice work. Midwives choosing to work privately, rather than being employed by hospitals and other institutions, do so because it allows them to be flexible about

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Australian Women Deserve to Choose Their Own Midwife

he video below highlights that Australian women deserve to choose their own midwife. Nic Edmondstone and Vicki Chan created this video for a Get-up political ad campaign. The video scored the highest number of hits. Indeed, the Opera House broadcast it as one of the top 10. Even though it was made in 2007; the video is as relevant now as it was then. The modern maternity care system remains in disarray. Issues include: Over-servicing High intervention rates High

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Choosing a practitioner

By Jane Palmer Once you have found out you are pregnant, the next step is usually deciding who you would like to provide your care and where you would like to give birth. The choices open to you very much depend on where you live. If you live in a major city, you have a wide range of options. However if you live in a rural area your options are more limited. General practitioners (GP) are usually aware of

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Pregnancy Choices – Who do you see?

Getting pregnant was the easy part – now what?  Who do you see? Where do you go for your care? How do you find out what is available out there and most important of all, what is the best form of care for you? Joanne said trying to find out where to go and who to care for her was harder than she would have thought. “The GP who did my pregnancy test said, ‘are you privately covered?’ and

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Your Options for Care During Pregnancy and for the Birth of your Child

So you’ve found out that you’re pregnant. Congratulations! But what now? You need someone to care for you during pregnancy – and someone to support you when having your baby – but who? You’ll also need to think about where, and how, you want to have your baby. Most women might think that the delivery suite at hospital is the only option, but there are others: birthing centre’s (often associated with hospitals) or even your own home. Homebirth is

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