Emotional Wellbeing
Support for New Parents
Maternity patients booked for the birth of their baby at North Shore Private
Hospital will now receive an online psychosocial assessment questionnaire
via email, as part of an Emotional Wellbeing Program to support parents.
These questionnaires are used to identify women who may be at risk of developing perinatal
mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.
Australian research suggests all pregnant women benefit from the opportunity to discuss their
emotional health. North Shore Private Hospital is proud to work with the Gidget Foundation
which aims to identify emotional wellbeing among expectant and new mothers.
This initiative, specifically designed for the private hospital setting, provides women with the
opportunity to address and discuss their feelings during pregnancy in a supportive confidential
environment and is supported by leading psychiatrists, obstetricians and midwives.
Women who may be at risk of developing perinatal mental health issues are then offered a
confidential one-on-one appointment with a specially trained midwife. This allows them the
opportunity to confidentially discuss their emotional wellbeing and to seek further support, help
and resources.
The Ramsay Way 2018 | 03 11
HOSPITAL NEWS
Tackling family violence
Breast pump hire service
Mothers can now hire breast pumps directly
from their nearest Ramsay Health Care maternity
hospital, thanks to a new partnership between
Ramsay Pharmacy and mybreastpump.com.au.
“We understand the early concerns of ensuring your baby is
feeding and sleeping well, which is why we set up a service
where we could provide products and services to make the
transition home as smooth as possible,” said Michael Rose,
Managing Director of mybreastpump.com.au.
“Ensuring that milk supply and feeding are established in the
early days following birth is critical to a successful transition
from hospital to home, particularly for mums with a low milk
supply and babies born prematurely or with other health
issues that may have disrupted the natural feeding process
from day one.”
Mothers and babies experiencing these issues are often
introduced to a hospital-grade breast pump while in the
maternity ward.
mybreastpump.com.au has worked with Ramsay hospitals
and pharmacies to ensure the same hospital-grade pumps are
available to rent from the hospital pharmacy upon discharge.
Hospital-grade breast pumps are designed for mothers who
are pumping frequently. They have stronger, quieter motors
and are designed to more closely mimic the natural sucking
rhythm of a nursing baby, thus developing and enhancing
milk supply.
This is in contrast with personal use pumps, which are
designed for occasional, infrequent use.
However, hospital-grade breast pumps are expensive to buy
and not required for long enough to justify the expense of
purchasing one, so renting a pump is ideal.
In addition to breast pumps, Ramsay Pharmacy sites offer a
range of competitively-priced maternity products.
Women can order their breast pumps over the phone or online,
before picking them up from their nominated Ramsay Pharmacy.
All equipment is compliant with Australian health and safety
standards; it is cleaned and tested prior to delivery in a
medical-grade cleaning facility.
24/7 technical support is available by
contacting 1300 726 666. For more
information, visit mybreastpump.com.au
or email info@mybreastpump.com.au.
A program aimed at supporting health professionals to identify
and respond to family violence has been launched at Mildura
Base Hospital.
Ramsay Health Care has partnered
with Robinvale and District
Health Service and Mallee Track
Health and Community Service
to implement the “Strengthening
Hospital Responses to Family
Violence (SHRFV) program over the
next two years.
Mildura Base Hospital CEO Julia
Morgan said family violence was a
significant health issue impacting
heavily on the Mildura community.
“Family Violence is Victoria’s largest
preventable cause of early death,
disability and illness in women
under the age of 45,” Ms Morgan
said.
Ms Morgan said the project
came from recommendations of
the 2015 Royal Commission into
Family Violence, which identified
that hospitals are an early contact
point for many people who have
experienced family violence.
“Health professionals are in a
unique position to identify
early indicators, have sensitive
conversations with patients and
provide support,” Ms Morgan said.