Welcome to Joan Kirner Women’s & Children’s
Congratulations on your pregnancy! We look forward to caring for you throughout your journey.
The attached information is designed to assist you with any questions you may have regarding your pregnancy. The Growing a Health Baby Booklet attached is a fantastic resource to outline the steps you can take to have a healthy pregnancy and reduce the risk of stillbirth. This resource is also available in 25 different languages. Please access this link to find the booklet in your preferred language.
Should you have any questions that require clarification, please make a list of these and bring them with you to your next appointment.
What is the Eve app?
Eve is a FREE pregnancy app for patients booked at Western Health. You will receive an SMS invitation to download the app the day after your first appointment. See flyer for more info.
What if I need to contact the hospital?
If you have concerns regarding your health or the pregnancy, please call our Maternity Assessment Centre (MAC) on 9055 2300 - this is a 24 hour service.
If you need to change an appointment, or have a non-urgent question, please call 8345 1727 during business hours or use this link
Breastfeeding Supports
Western Health is a breastfeeding friendly hospital, this means we promote breastfeeding for all birthing people. Please watch this video Breastfeeding Basics - video | Australian Breastfeeding Association to learn about the breastfeeding basics. You can read more about the Breastfeeding Health Initiative here
What does the hospital look like?
You can use this link to watch a video about each area of the hospital and how it looks.
Mental Health during pregnancy
You can sign up to 'Ready to Cope' - based on your due date or baby’s birth date, e-mails are sent out with insights and strategies to support your emotional wellbeing through pregnancy and up to 1 year after birth.
You can also use https://directory.cope.org.au/#/ to find a support service near you.
Childbirth Education Classes
We are trailing two different programs of childbirth education to identify which, if either, provides better levels of preparedness for labour and leads to improved birthing outcomes to help decide which should be offered by Western Health in the future. Our pilot program is available in English to first time parents. The program includes 4 week night classes or 2 Saturday classes. $80 for entire program and no extra cost for your support person to attend. Please email [email protected] or speak with your midwife/doctor for more information and consent form.
For those who do not meet the criteria for classes at Western Health or seeking an alternative, we recommend a local external provider called ‘Tweddle’.
