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Midwifery care in the Hunter

Great news – There is Continual Care Midwifery available in the Hunter!

Seeking great Midwife Birth Care?

For women seeking a chance at a joyful, trusting and connected pregnancy and birth journey with high quality midwife care, you have come to the right information page!

In the Hunter, women have three, great, midwife one-to-one, continual care programs:

  • Belmont Group Practise (also includes homebirth service)
  • JHH Birth Centre rooms near the standard birth rooms
  • Maitland).

All of these various programs are government funded through Medicare (i.e. you can have pretty amazing birth care and it can be for zero cost).

Saying it again for those up the back these programs are zero cost!

Alternative options

Of course, sadly, the government funded programs don't always accept all women, or meet the specific emotional needs, or geographical needs of all women, at least not fully and completely. Hence for a wide variety of reasons, a family may be seeking to hire a private midwife to birth at home privately or even to support a hospital journey (here the midwife takes a back seat/non-medical role while with her client in hospital spaces).

For those seeking a private midwife to hire, we are lucky and the region has quite a few private midwives available (though they can book up fast too).

Studies show that a woman who receives continuous, one-one midwifery care is more likely to:

  • have a normal birth
  • have a more positive experience of labour and birth
  • be satisfied with her maternity care
  • successfully breastfeed her baby
  • have her baby born at term
  • have her baby born healthy

Belmont Birth Centre

Belmont Hospital

Belmont Group Practise is a team of passionate midwives who have a natural philosophy for childbirth and provide continuity of care for you throughout your antenatal care, labour, birth and postnatal period.

The women birth in the Birth Centre rooms at Level 2, Belmont Hospital. The overseeing hospital is JHH. and any transfers do proceed directly to JHH.

Women in this program and in the 30 minute radius to JHH hospital, can choose to birth at the Birth Rooms or at home. Women do not need a GP to approve this, women can self refer.

Read more about the Belmont Midwifery Group Practice program here:

http://www.friendsofbelmontbirthing.org.au/faq/

To ask for a spot in their programs, phone (02) 4923 2108

(be ready to need to leave a message at the voicemail).

Belmont Midwifery Group Practice
Reception (Mon – Fri between 8:30am – 2pm)
4923 2108

Manager’s Desk (Mon-Fri between 9am -5pm)
0428 112 192

Fax (for referrals – but you can self refer too)
4923 6415

Belmont District Hospital, Level 2
16 Croudace Bay Rd
Belmont, NSW

Hunter Midwifery Group Practise (HMGP)

John Hunter Hospital

Hunter Midwifery group Practice (HMGP) is a team of passionate midwives who have a natural philosophy for childbirth and provide continuity of care for you throughout your antenatal care, labour, birth and postnatal period.

The women birth in the birth centre at the John Hunter Hospital (JHH)

If you are interested in having your pregnancy care with our team you should be:

Planning to have a natural birth without unnecessary intervention prepared to go home with your baby 4-6 hrs following your birth unless complications arise in your birth and / or in the postpartum period. The team will then follow you up at home for up to two weeks in the postnatal period
Residing within the John Hunter Hospital catchment area
In good health and been allocated to a low-risk model following your IMAP appointment at JHH

The program encourages you to ask your GP to send an early referral to the JHH for an IMAP appointment between 11-14 weeks, which will include 1st trimester screening and USS. You will see both a Midwife and Obstetrician at this appointment and you should clearly state you want HMGP as your model of care at this time. If you are accepted on to HMGP you will receive a phone call from a midwife between 14-16weeks, if you are on a waitlist or not appropriate for the model of care continue with planned antenatal care made at IMAP.

Should you require further information please visit Pregnancy Care at JHH | HNE Health (nsw.gov.au) or call (02)49232108 or message us on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/huntermgp

Maitland Group Practice

Maitland Hospital

Maitland Group Practise is a team of passionate midwives who have a natural philosophy for childbirth and provide continuity of care for you throughout your antenatal care, labour, birth and postnatal period.

https://patientinfo.org.au/patientinfo/Maitland%20midwifery%20group%20practice.pdf

Hire Your Own Midwife

Independent Midwife Care

Sometimes women seek a very personalised, one to one, care for their pregnancy, birth and postpartum. We are very blessed to have a number of choices in the region.

This option has low government funding and you will need to pay out of pocket approximately $5000. Mind you, this is still a very affordable birth compared to many other births, even with private health cover taken into account!

Independent Midwives can support you at home, but also support women hospital birthing (they take on a non-medical role in any hospital spaces).

Find out more about your choices here

Need more help or advice?

Give me a call or use the contact form to send an enquiry

Respect and honour to the Awabakal and Worimi people as the original and wise custodians of this land. Honour to those who have birthed and breastfed their babies on this sacred land for more than 65,000 years.