The purpose of these guidelines is to provide general practitioners (GPs) and midwives working in the community with a reference of recommendation to prescribe medicines for women and babies under their care. Guidelines do not replace clinical judgement.

These guidelines contain two parts which are colour coded as in the brochure below. They are intended to be a brief reference source to cover antenatal and postnatal care in the community. No consideration is given to intrapartum care. The guidelines are intended for use in the community setting, therefore only medicines which are commonly used in the community are included (for example, IV antibiotics are not included in this booklet); this list is not exhaustive.

Part 1: Clinical Monographs. This includes diagnosis, patient advice, treatment rationale and drugs of choice. The drug chosen for treatment is primarily based on the most effective treatment that may be used safely in pregnancy and lactation. The medicine monographs in part 2 should be referred to in conjunction with this advice.

Part 2: Medicine Monographs. This includes preparations available, indication, dosage, contraindications, cautions, adverse effects, interactions, patient information and data regarding safety in pregnancy and breastfeeding. This information has been adapted from the common reference resources which are referenced at the end of each monograph. The disclaimer at the beginning of this section should be read before using the monographs. Consideration is also given to subsidy of pharmaceuticals in the community.

• Community Prescribing Guide for Maternity Care (PDF, 4.6 MB)
  

  The purpose of these guidelines is to provide general practitioners (GPs) and midwives working in the community with a reference of recommendation to prescribe medicines for women and babies under their care. Guidelines do not replace clinical judgement.