Overview
Occasionally, some women experience conditions like Type 1 Diabetes or high blood pressure, that increase the risks involved with pregnancy. If you experience a condition that increases risk during your pregnancy, you will require closer obstetric monitoring during. This can also mean an increased number of visits to the hospital.
All women will see an obstetrician at varying times during their pregnancy. Obstetricians work in the antenatal clinic on a daily basis, and work with our team of midwives. If you require obstetric care, you will also see our midwives at certain times throughout your pregnancy.
Getting here
Find us at:
Werribee Mercy Hospital
296 Princes Highway
Werribee Victoria 3030
For more information on getting here, visit Outpatient Clinics or find out more about Werribee Mercy Hospital.
Opening hours
The antenatal clinic runs:
- Monday-Friday, 8:30am–5:30pm.
Your appointment
What to do before
Before your first appointment, please:
- complete the documents attached to your appointment letter
- write down a list of any questions.
Information about your outpatient clinic appointment is included in the Outpatient access page along with details on how to find us.
What to bring
Please bring:
- your Medicare Card (or your passport and travel visa)
- any current blood test and urine test results
- any ultrasound results
- your appointment letter
- completed paperwork.
Please bring your Victorian Maternity Record (VMR), otherwise known as your ‘orange book’, to subsequent appointments.
What to expect on the day
Please arrive 30 minutes before for your appointment. This will give you enough time to find parking and walk to the Outpatient Clinics building. The walk can take up to five minutes. Appointment lengths vary according to your needs.
In the Antenatal Clinic, we can have up to ten different clinics (rooms) running each day. You will be allocated to a specific obstetrician. You may notice that some women arrive after you but are seen before you. This means this woman is seeing a different clinician to the one you will see.
Please allow an hour for your whole visit.
More information
Team Composition
Throughout your pregnancy, you may be supported by:
- consultant obstetricians
- obstetric registrars (a qualified doctor who is training to be an obstetrician)
- resident medical officers
- midwives
- an endocrinologist
- a diabetes educator
- a dietitian
- a physiotherapist
- social workers.
What questions should you ask
Please come to your appointment with any questions you may have about your care. Common questions include:
- Can I have a vaginal birth after a caesarean section?
- Can I request a female doctor?
- Can I bring my children to appointments?
- What happens if I cannot attend my appointment?
For further information about your visit, including the answers to these questions, please read the FAQs.
If you require a medical certificate or carer’s certificate please ask your midwife or doctor during your appointment.
Opportunities to be involved in research
We participate in research projects and you have the opportunity to be involved. You can find more information on these projects and how they can benefit other babies, mothers and families in our waiting rooms. Your midwife may also talk to you about participating in any projects.
For health professionals
Obstetric antenatal care for women with higher risk pregnancies.
Procedural information
Please provide the following information:
- a full referral, including pregnancy model of care choice
- any relevant pregnancy and related medical information
- any tests, scans, results or patient information
- social supports and any external agencies involved in your patient’s care.
Referrals to this service are assessed against the Statewide Referral Criteria. Please utilise HealthPathways to assist in making the referral. Referrals which do not meet the Statewide Referral Criteria will be declined.
How to prepare the patient
Please prepare your patient by:
- explaining alternative models of maternity care which may be suitable
- encouraging your patient to ask any questions she may have
- suggesting she book into our Parenting Education Workshops if she is a first-time mother.
The model of care is how pregnancy care is provided. We discuss this with each patient at the first appointment and decide which model is most suitable. We provide the following models of care:
- Obstetric Care, where most pregnancy appointments will be with an obstetrician
- Team Maternity Care, where most pregnancy appointments will be with a midwife
- Shared Care, where most pregnancy appointments will be with a GP. Please note, the GP must be a shared care affiliate.
What/when you should refer to us
- Please refer a woman who would like to attend Werribee Mercy Hospital Outpatient Clinics for their antenatal care and subsequent birth. Please refer into the service as soon as possible after a positive pregnancy test. Obstetric care is for high-risk pregnancies.
Our clinic is receiving eReferrals via HealthLink SmartForms. Please see our Refer a patient page for more information.
What/when you should not refer to us
Please do not refer women to this service if they have a:
- very high-risk pregnancy
- body mass index (BMI) of 40 or above.
Contacts
In case of emergency, call 000
For patients
Outpatient Clinics - Antenatal
-
Phone numbers:
Outpatient Clinics - Antenatal
03 8754 3390
- Phone number: 03 8754 6710
- Website: Antenatal clinics
-
About:
Call this number for:
· Appointment questions
· Referral questions
· You want to speak to a midwife about your appointment
· You want to change your appointment
· You want to tell us you no longer need your appointment
DO NOT call this number if you are worried about your baby, have pain or are bleeding. Call Maternity services also listed on this page.
For Health Professionals
HealthPathways Melbourne
- Email address: [email protected]
- Website: HealthPathways Melbourne
-
About:
HealthPathways Melbourne provides clinicians with a single website to access clinical and referral pathways, and resources. Pathways are created by local GPs, working in partnership with specialists, nurses, allied health and other health professionals.
Mercy Health recommends clinicians to access HealthPathways Melbourne for guidance in assessing, managing and referring for patient conditions (login required).
Referrals to outpatient clinics at Mercy Health will be triaged against clinical information and investigations based on these guidelines.
Referrals that do not meet the required clinical information and investigations will not be accepted.
HealthPathways Melbourne is available for free to health professionals working in the North Western Melbourne and Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network catchments.
Email HealthPathways to request access or if you need to confirm your username and password.
Healthlink SmartForm eReferrals
- Website: au.healthlink.net/support
-
About:
HealthLink is a secure digital platform for sending referrals directly from your GP practice software (Best Practice, Genie, Medical Director and MedTech Evolution).
Practices without conformant software can register for a free HealthLink Portal licence by completing the online registration form and noting in the comments/message field that you would like to use the SmartForms, then selecting the two checkboxes – (1) Receive Electronic Correspondence (free of charge) and (3) Send Electronic Smart Forms (My Aged Care, Transport for NSW, Monash Health etc).
Once HealthLink receives your completed registration application, this will be processed and the portal details will be forwarded to you.
eReferral Support Contact Information
- For GPs in the Eastern Melbourne Primary Healthcare Network region wanting to enable eReferrals (HealthLink Smartforms), please contact [email protected]or if urgent (03) 9046 0300.
- For GPs in the North Western Melbourne Primary Healthcare Network region wanting to enable eReferrals (HealthLink Smartforms), please contact HealthLink via phone: 1800 125 036 or email [email protected]
- For issues with HealthLink SmartForms, or to have this solution enabled within your clinical software system, please contact HealthLink on 1800 125 036 or [email protected].
Statewide Referral Criteria for Specialist Clinics - Victoria
- Website: Statewide Referral Criteria
-
About:
The Department of Health and Human Services has developed statewide referral criteria to assist GPs and clinicians referring patients to specialist clinics. These referral criteria have been developed to improve access to specialist clinics in public hospitals by improving the quality and appropriateness of referrals.
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