Our team of experienced midwives provide you with the benefit of their collective expertise, a holistic and personalised approach to maternity care.
Having a baby is special and exciting, it is one of the most wonderful experiences of your life. It is also a time when you will have many questions and the support you get will be important to you. At Eve Health you will have access to both your obstetrician and our midwives for your antenatal and postnatal care.
We feel that establishing a relationship with a midwife, as well as your obstetrician provides an integrated approach to your pregnancy, birth and beyond. Holistic, women-centred care recognises the impact your mind, spirit, and physical health has on your pregnancy and birth experience. Experiencing support from different women’s health disciplines ensures we are promoting your emotional well-being.
As part of our standard antenatal schedule, we offer approximately 12-13 appointments with your obstetrician, and 2 appointments with a midwife who will compliment your obstetric appointments. We have a team of experienced midwives at Eve Health who between them cover Monday to Friday.
The antenatal midwife appointments are between 30 – 45 minutes in length and cover common pregnancy concerns such as; diet, exercise, antenatal education, birth and breastfeeding preparation, social networking, emotional support and an opportunity to answer any questions or concerns about “what is normal?” The midwife appointments are longer in duration than your obstetrician appointments, so many women like to use this time to ask lots of questions.
We encourage you to book your initial midwife appointment between 16-18 weeks. By this stage most women have not felt their baby’s movements yet, so the heartbeat is also heard at this session. It is also an ideal time for you to get to know our midwives, so that if you telephone for advice then you might already know that voice at the end of the phone.
A second midwife appointment in your third trimester can be booked for birth preparation (you might want to discuss your birth plans, consider hiring a TENS machine for pain relief in labour, learn about antenatal expression of colostrum, and it is an opportunity to discuss mental health in pregnancy). You can however, make an appointment with an Eve Health midwife anytime during your pregnancy. Our midwives have had years of experience working in the birthing units of maternity hospitals around Australia and some continue to work at Mater Mothers’ Private Hospital here in Brisbane. They are passionate about preparing new families for the transition to parenthood.
In addition to these routine midwifery visits, our midwives are available for phone advice, and might discuss pathology and scan results with you.
At Eve Health, we recommend a postnatal visit at two to three weeks with one of our midwives. In these early days, they can help you feel confident navigating your new role as a mother and guide experienced mums with the new dynamic of another baby. This is also a great time to learn more about our Eve Health Parents’ Group , Next Nine Months Workshop and Paediatric First Aid courses
Below is a summary of what you can expect during your midwife appointment:
During Pregnancy
- General discussion of common pregnancy concerns and expectations;
- Blood pressure check;
- A review of pathology results;
- Getting know your baby’s movements;
- Information/education on late stage pregnancy, labour and birth;
- Mental health support – we offer a safe environment to discuss coping strategies for anxiety or stress in pregnancy, as well as help with referral pathways;
- Abdominal palpation – check baby’s position and listen to your baby’s heartbeat with a Doppler;
- If required, we can:
- Provide additional information tailored to any medical complications in pregnancy such as gestational diabetes or anti-coagulopathy administration education
- Administer Anti-D injections;
- Help you develop a birth plan;
- Measure you for compression stockings (for travel or varicose veins), or SRC garments for pelvic discomfort or varicose veins in pregnancy, or for recovery support after the birth;
- Provide breastfeeding preparation and advice. We can teach you antenatal expressing of colostrum after 36 weeks, and provide you with appropriate milk syringes;
- Arrange hiring of a TENS machine and education – we’ll show you how it works, how to set it up and how to achieve optimal pain relief.
Your postnatal appointment with your baby (usually 2- 3 weeks after the birth)
- A longer appointment of 45 minutes duration;
- Birth talk –time to debrief and understand any variations from your birth plan that you may have experienced;
- Blood pressure check;
- Physical exam of mother and baby;
- Discussion about how feeding is going, and able to troubleshoot or refer to Lactation Consultants if required;
- We will weigh baby so bring along your red book!
- Listen to parents – are there any concerns you have about the transition to parenting, worries about newborn?
- Mental health check-in for both partners – how are you adjusting to parenthood, do you have any concerns about your emotional health and well-being? Discussion about signs to look out for that may indicate postnatal depression and/or anxiety, and who to contact for help;
- Support and education on normal newborn behaviour and patterns.
Our midwives are all very experienced and love to cuddle babies! Please note all midwives are up to date with their flu and whooping cough vaccines.
Did you know?
All of our Brisbane midwives are experienced childbirth and early parenting educators and can cater to all of your educational needs either one-to-one or in a small group setting.
Meet Our Experienced Midwives:
Comments are closed.