Events

It is no secret that working in the medical field can be incredibly taxing; from long hours to constant stress and responsibility. As a health professional, there is a level of pressure that is expected and when tolerated and overcome, can lead to a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. However, if it persists endlessly beyond what is humanly possible, it can also lead to fatigue and burnout. Health professionals need to prioritise their care and insist that their basic rights and needs are met in the workplace. We need solutions to this crisis!

This presentation will provide an overview of the Maternal Transfers Redesign Initiative, a NSW Health initiative aimed at making sure that women receive the right care, at the right place, at the right time. An important element of the Initiative has been the introduction of Quantitative Fetal Fibronectin Point of Care testing at our SNSWLHD birthing facilities.

Louise Everitt is a PhD candidate at Western Sydney University co-designing a Perinatal Interprofessional Psychosocial Education Program for Maternity Clinicians (PIPE-MC). Louise will highlight the challenges and power of Co-Designs, the lessons learnt and importantly the feedback from the co-design team. If co-design is to be effective there needs to be agreement on what it is and how it works, prior to commencing the project. Respectful participation, that all participants are seen as experts and their input is valued and has equal standing.

This presentation will focus on the findings from the first paper to identify obstetric violence in Australia through the Birth Experience Study (BESt), the largest maternity experiences of its kind in Australia. BEst was a national survey co-designed and created with 10 professional and consumer organisations in 2021 and explored a variety of topics across the pregnancy, labour and birth and postpartum period including questions on obstetric violence. There were 8,804 responses to the survey and more than one in ten women identified as experiencing obstetric violence. The paper focused on the qualitative comments that were left by 626 women.

Sing to Connect is a unique initiative that links music and midwifery to support perinatal mental health and wellbeing of new mothers from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.  Bringing together our CALD community of birthing mothers and families isolated by language barriers and other challenges related to refugee status, alongside the added challenge of COVID-19 restrictions, Sing to Connect foregrounds social connections and community wellbeing. Join Dr Charulatha Mani to discover how music-making can help with women’s health, particularly in a culturally and linguistically diverse perinatal context.

Western Sydney Local Health District has the largest population of Aboriginal people living within NSW and Dragonfly Midwifery seeks to help address the fact Aboriginal women and babies continue to experience higher rates of mortality and morbidity compared to non-Aboriginal women and babies. Through this web conference we have a wonderful opportunity to gain insight into what it means to be a Dragonfly Midwife. A Midwifery team offers culturally safe midwifery care for women from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.

Perinatal mental health is a specialised field.  Unlike any other life stage, the perinatal period brings unique contextual factors which must be considered and incorporated into the assessment, management and treatment of perinatal mental health conditions. Three years in development, Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE) has released a NEW online training course: Applied Skills in Perinatal Mental Health Assessment and Care.

Almost one in five Victorian women and girls live with disability. Women with disability experience poorer health outcomes when compared to the general community due to inequities associated with gender and disability. The Royal Women’s hospital Melbourne has an established a clinic that provides individualised, disability-informed maternity care to patients with sensory, neurological and physical difference. The presentation will discuss the findings of their research, care provisions they offer, and the key needs to change to better support women with disabilities.​

In 2016 NSW Government recognised that Penrith is one the fastest growing areas in NSW, and the current Nepean Hospital was not going to be able to meet the healthcare needs of the region. The Planning and ongoing consultation with stakeholders would continue through 2018 to ensure that $1 Billion redevelopment would deliver world class facilities. This web conference is truly a unique opportunity to learn from the challenges and success of “Turning our dreams into reality”.

Despite improvements in maternity care, adverse outcomes persist resulting in maternity care being a high litigation area. This study aimed to explore the concept of safety during labour and birth from the perspectives of women and organisations who provide care. This study, using a multi-method qualitative design, was conducted at a large Melbourne metropolitan hospital, which provides care to women from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.

Neonatal intensive care is, by its very nature, intensive in both care and energy consumption. However, NICUs can play an important role in reducing the carbon footprint of healthcare. Identifying leaner pathways, and determining sustainable alternatives must form part of the domains of quality care.