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Auckland DHB Women's Health - Maternity/ Pregnancy Care

Public Service

Description

Welcome to National Women’s Health. National Women's inpatient, newborn and high risk maternity outpatient services are located on the 9th floor of Auckland City Hospital in Grafton.

National Women's Walk-In Centre, Community outpatient services, Fertility and Gynaecology outpatient services continue to be provided on the Greenlane site on the 6th floor of the Greenlane Clinical Centre.

Please visit the National Women's Health website for more information nationalwomenshealth.adhb.govt.nz

The Women's Health Information Unit is located in the Atrium area on level 9 at Auckland City Hospital.

Contact: Ph: (09) 307 8978  or email:  .

 What is Maternity?
Maternity is the area of medicine concerned with the treatment of women during pregnancy (antenatal), labour and delivery, and the time after childbirth (postnatal). Once pregnancy has been confirmed, regular antenatal checks should be performed by a midwife, GP or obstetrician (doctor who is specialised in obstetrics). In the first 28 weeks, these checks will be done every month but will increase as the pregnancy progresses.

Click the links below for more information.

Finding an LMC:

Pregnancy and postnatal care:

Education and support:

Click on the following links to access:

Consultants

Referral Expectations

If you have an urgent problem requiring immediate assessment you are referred acutely  to the Women's Assessment Unit where you will initially be seen by the junior medical staff who will decide whether you need to be admitted to hospital. Investigations will be performed as required, and the more senior members of the team involved where necessary.
 
If the problem is not urgent, your GP will write a letter to Women's Health Services to request an appointment in the outpatient clinic. These letters are reviewed to decide who should be seen first, based on the information given by the GP. Very urgent cases are usually seen within a couple of weeks, but other cases may have to wait a much longer time.
 
When you come to the Maternity Outpatient Department, you will be seen by a member of the team who will ask questions about your illness and examine you to try to work out or confirm the diagnosis. We may also need to do a number of tests (e.g. blood tests, x-rays, scans etc). Sometimes this can all be done during one clinic visit, but for some conditions this will take several follow-up appointments. Occasionally some tests are arranged even before you are seen at the hospital to try to speed up the process.
 
Once a diagnosis has been made, the medical staff will discuss treatment with you.  In order to minimise the amount of time that you have to spend in hospital, Women's Health run a preadmission process. This is usually done through a clinic where you are seen just prior to hospital admission. The aim of this clinic is to confirm that you still need to have the planned surgery and that you are currently fit and well enough to undergo the operation. This process usually involves the junior medical staff working in consultation with the anaesthetists, pharmacists, physiotherapists etc. Often the consultant will also take this opportunity to review your condition.

Services / Common Conditions / Procedures / Treatments

  • Healthy Babies Healthy Futures

    Give babies and toddlers a HEALTHY start to every day!
    Come join in the fun, meet other mums, learn some great tips or relax and enjoy a hot cuppa!… More PDF

  • Stop Smoking Support in Pregnancy

    Stopping smoking is one of the best things you can do for yourself and the health of your baby.… More

  • Diabetes in Pregnancy

    Gestation is the length of a pregnancy from conception to birth (usually 40 weeks in humans).… More

  • Miscarriage Support Group

    You can contact Miscarriage Support Auckland
    by phone: (09) 360 4034… More PDF

  • Breastfeeding

    Experts agree that breastfeeding is the best way to feed your baby.… More

  • HIV Screening in Pregnancy

    Recommended routine screening for HIV testing in pregnancy for women.  … More

  • Antenatal Blood Tests

    Having blood tests early on in your pregnancy can help protect you and those close to you.… More

  • Obstetric Ultrasound

    Ultrasound imaging, also called ultrasound scanning, is a method of obtaining pictures from inside the human body through the use of high frequency sound waves.… More

  • Amniocentesis

    This is a procedure used to evaluate the health of your unborn baby and identify any problems that may exist.… More

  • Chorionic Villus Sampling

    Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) is used to test for genetic disorders, such as Down’s syndrome, and involves taking a small sample of the chorionic villi, which are the tiny units that make up the placenta.… More

  • Small for Gestational Age (Intrauterine Growth Restriction - IUGR)

    In a very small number of pregnancies, the baby may not grow as well as in a normal pregnancy.… More

  • Pain Relief Options in Childbirth

    Pain is a normal part of labour and childbirth. The pain women experience in labour is caused by contractions of the uterus and the thinning and opening (dilating) of the cervix.… More

  • Induction of Labour

    Induction of labour is the process of starting labour artificially.… More

  • Caesarean Section

    A caesarean section is the name of the operation done to deliver a baby through a cut in your stomach and uterus (womb).… More

  • Pre-eclampsia (Toxaemia of Pregnancy)

    Toxaemia of pregnancy or pre-eclampsia is a condition that occurs in some women during the second half of pregnancy.… More

  • Premature Baby

    A premature baby is one that is born before 37 weeks’ gestation (the length of a pregnancy from conception to birth).… More

  • Postnatal Depression

    The postpartum (also called postnatal) period is the time after the birth of a baby.… More

  • Vaginal Birth After Caesarean

    National Women’s has a multidisciplinary clinic for women who want to explore the possibility of a vaginal birth following a previous caesarean section.… More

  • Free postnatal Jadelle implant

     Jadelle hormonal implants are available from Maternity Outpatients Department, Greenlane Clinical Centre, Epsom… More

Charges

There are no charges for services to public patients if you are a NZ resident. Some medicines will require a small fee. Patients requiring Mirena may in some cases be expected to fund this if they do not meet national guidelines for their free provision.

If you are not a NZ resident you will be required to pay for your care.
To check if you will need to pay visit the Ministry of Health website www.moh.govt.nz/eligibility

For charges, please phone the Finance Department on (09) 630 9943.

Document Downloads

Other

PARENTING HELP

SKIP:  Strategies with Kids / Information for Parents

  • How to cope with a crying baby
  • Shaken Baby
  • Child Safety
  • Family Violence

 

YOUR RIGHTS DURING PREGNANCY AND BIRTH:
 
You have the right:
 
  • To be treated with dignity, cultural sensitivity and respect at all times 
  • To choose your place of birth 
  • To choose your caregiver/s and to change your caregiver/s at any time 
  • To choose who will be present at your birth and to ask others to leave 
  • Before agreeing to any procedures, or being given any drug, medication or test, to ask about any side effects or risks to yourself or your baby. You can accept or refuse any treatments 
  • To choose how you will give birth and to feel free to follow your feelings and instincts during birth 
  • To have the placenta/whenua handled with cultural sensitivity 
  • If transferred to a large maternity hospital, to be accompanied by your primary caregiver and support people of your choice 
  • To refuse to allow your baby to be fed infant milk formula if you choose to breastfeed (NOTE: occasionally there is a medical need for formula)
  • Not to be separated from your baby 
  • To make a complaint and receive satisfactory explanations from your caregiver/s and others involved with your care 
  • To read, or have a copy of your medical records and your baby’s medical records 
  • To have a trained interpreter if English is not your first language 
  • To refuse to take part in any research project or to withdraw from a research project at any time 
  • To refuse to allow student health professionals to provide care for you or your baby.

Contact Details

Auckland City Hospital

Central Auckland

• Walk in Centre
  (09) 623 6455 or freephone 0800 4 BIRTH (0800 424 784)

• Labour and Birthing Suite
  (09) 307 2888

• Women's Assessment Unit
  (09) 631 0784

• Day Assessment Unit
  (09) 307 4949 ext 25907

• Appointment enquiries
  (09) 638 0400

 

2 Park Road
Grafton
Auckland 1023

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Street Address

2 Park Road
Grafton
Auckland 1023

Postal Address

National Women’s Health
Private Bag 92 024
Auckland Mail Centre
Auckland 1142
New Zealand

This page was last updated at 3:22PM on November 13, 2019. This information is reviewed and edited by Auckland DHB Women's Health - Maternity/ Pregnancy Care.