By Carole Levy
New parents are exposed to an enormous amount of information through pregnancy, birth and beyond. With family and friends offering advice with the best of intentions and the internet providing limitless content based on popular search topics, it’s easy to see how parents can become overwhelmed and confused.
It’s not uncommon for parents to search for answers on the internet or seek guidance from someone close to them.
But unless the information is coming from an expert, such as a midwife, how can we be sure it is accurate and safe?
Hayley Carter, acting nurse unit manager at Epworth Geelong, says hospital midwives are a trusted source for mums during pregnancy, birth and early days in hospital.
“It can be daunting for a new parent to leave the care and comfort of a hospital to start their life with their newborn – perfectly understandable given how much they have had to learn in those first few days,” she says.
To help ease the transition from hospital to home, Epworth Maternity recently launched a series of mobile midwife videos on pregnancy and the postnatal period to support new parents. The learning videos encapsulate decades of clinical midwifery expertise and practical, knowledge-based advice.
The series is broken down into two-minute videos that cover newborn topics such as feeding, nappy changing, bathing, dressing and swaddling, plus topics for mums like self-care, exercise, nutrition and partner support.
“Our families often comment that they wish they could take a midwife home with them,” Hayley says. “This educational video series offers the next best thing, providing an extension of our care from hospital into the home. This new video series offers expert guidance anywhere at any time our parents need it.”
The mobile midwife videos, available for all to view online, are accessible for maternity patients on their point-of-care device when staying at Epworth Geelong and Epworth Freemasons.
See the videos at epworthgeelong.org.au/our-services/maternity.
Epworth Geelong, 1 Epworth Place, Waurn Ponds. Inquiries: 5271 7777 or epworthgeelong.org.au
