Hospital Map (15kb, pdf)
Midwifery
Hamilton Base Hospital's Maternity Services offers an approach to childbirth that is based on family-centred care, promoting pregnancy and childbirth as a normal healthy life event. Over two hundred babies are born at Hamilton Base Hospital each year. The unit offers birth in a relaxed, homelike environment and partners are encouraged to participate during this special time.
The unit consists of five bedrooms with ensuites (three of which operated as birthing suites), baby care facilities, televisions, telephones and ‘fold out’ couches. The unit is situated on the top floor of the hospitals main building, adjacent to the operating theatre.
Our maternity unit provides quality care for women who have a normal pregnancy and birthing experiences or those with minor medical conditions. The unit has its own Specialist Obstetrician, GP-Obstetricians, a visiting Paediatrician, general surgeons, medical and anaesthetic practitioners.
The Hamilton Model of Midwifery Care (HMMC) will provide continuity of care for women to ensure the continued maintenance of their dignity and individuality and enhance and support the skills of midwives and doctors in a collaborative framework. The HMMC ensures a one to one relationship between a woman and her midwife for midwifery care throughout pregnancy, labour, birth and postnatal. Each woman is allocated to a midwife, with support from one or more midwives from within the HMMC and in collaboration with the Obstetrician/GP Obstetrician. Each midwife is allocated up to 40 - 45 women, according to EFT, annually.
The Unit
The Maternity Unit comprises of a level 1 nursery, allowing for the care of neonates of no less than 36 weeks gestation, and those neonates who do not require mechanical ventilation. Emergency and supportive measures are able to be provided for neonates who require transfer to a tertiary hospital for ongoing care via the Neonatal Emergency Transfer Service (NETS).
Women who require urgent referral to tertiary centres for specialised or ongoing care are transported through liaison with the Perinatal Referral Service (PERS) and the Victorian Rural Ambulance Service.
The Hamilton Base Hospital also offers access to a comprehensive range of additional services such as:
- Domiciliary midwifery service
- Antenatal and postnatal mental health support
- Midwifery outpatient support
- Alliances with other health professionals as required eg. dietician, physiotherapy, social workers
The Hamilton Base Hospital is an accredited Baby Friendly Hospital and encourages breastfeeding. It also boasts being honoured with the Johnson & Johnson State Midwifery Award in 2002 and has on staff the 2006 Victorian Midwife of the Year.
Visit the Baby Friendly Health Initiative for further information.
We are committed to quality improvement and adopt practices that are supported by best practice research, minimising risk to both mother and baby and promoting optimal outcomes.
For further in formation about any of these services, please contact our friendly staff on the Obstetric / Maternity Unit on (03) 555 18390 or (03) 5551 8391.
11/01/2012
ABN: 47 616 976 917