Special COVID-19 Update

To all our expectant and prospective parents

We are thinking of you all, along with our wider birthing community at this unprecedented and challenging time.

Please read the following information and recommendations from the LBC Committee & Midwives.

We have included additional resources to assist you and your family during this challenging time.

We would like to advise you of the following.

We have made the decision to keep providing midwifery care:

Attending antenatal visit: face-to-face visits will be limited to 15 minutes to take your blood pressure and assess your baby’s growth with the remainder of the visit via phone. We will bring minimal equipment into your home and will be dressed to minimise the potential to transmit infection.
Where possible Tele-health visits will be attended.
Supporting any women who needs to be transferred from the home or birth centre where the womens partner has elected to not be present at the birth as the hospital is limiting support during labour to one person.
Providing homebirth and Birth Centre birth.
Attending essential face-to-face postnatal visits and otherwise Tele-health visits during the postnatal period.
To ensure the safety of the client, the midwives will not be accepting bookings if the client is over 36 weeks.

We strongly advise you to significantly limit your face-to-face interaction with friends and family.

We recommend that the pregnant woman considers herself to be in ‘lockdown’ except for essential pregnancy appointments from 32 weeks.

We will be making changes to the way we do things in line with the advice we are being given. This may include wearing personnel protective equipment (PPE) – goggles, overshirts or gowns, masks and wipe-able shoes. This is for our and your family’s protection and aimed at minimising the spread of coronavirus.

If one of the midwives in the group becomes unwell, they will be unavailable to provide care. Your midwife will contact you and provide you with advice & alternative arrangements for your continued pregnancy and birthing care.We want to remain well to continue to provide care, however if our workforce is unable to provide two midwives for a homebirth we will have no alternative but to transfer a woman’s care to the nearest public maternity service.

We are living in very difficult times and as you are aware advisories are being updated daily. Please contact your midwife if you have further questions or concerns.

Look after yourselves, your loved ones and stay safe.

For further questions please contact Midwife Emma Ryder: 0488 962 231