Obstetrics Melbourne

All obstetric services
At Melbourne Mothers, we are here to help you deliver your baby and to prepare for the big day. Let’s go over some of the wide variety of obstetric services that we offer at our family practice.
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Obstetrics Melbourne and breech baby

Breech birth

Obstetricians talk about breech presentation when your baby is not lying in the usual head first position. Instead, the baby will have found either foot first or bottom first the most comfortable position to lie in. A breech position is very common in the early stages of your pregnancy, and your baby would normally turn into the head first position later down the track.

This happens in about 3 to 5 % of pregnancies and it is considered higher risk. When dealing with a possible breech birth, we use our experience and the information we get as we monitor your baby throughout your pregnancy, to make the safest decision together about your delivery method.

If the baby doesn’t change position, by the final few weeks of your pregnancy, we might need to turn the baby into a head-first position and this is called external cephalic version. Alternatively, some mothers opt for a caesarean section. Less commonly, usually in an emergency setting, babies may be born vaginally despite their breech presentation.

Obstetrics Melbourne and cervical insufficiency

Cervical weakness

We use several terms to describe abnormal shortening of the cervix. Some terms that you may have heard include – cervical weakness, cervical insufficiency, or an incompetent cervix.

It means that the tissue in your cervix, the lower part of the uterus that opens to your vagina, softens and loses its normal firmness. It means that your cervix might open too soon and we may need to use preventive medication or a procedure to stop that process.

In this situation, which can be very stressful, we will organise more frequent pregnancy scans and in some cases, we use sutures to close the cervix.

Obstetrics Melbourne and GDM

Gestational diabetes

If you are diagnosed with diabetes during your pregnancy, we refer to it as gestational diabetes. The condition causes high blood sugar because your cells now use sugar (glucose) in a different way.

The good news is that we can help you manage your gestational diabetes with the right level of exercise, a healthy diet, and medication if need be. It means that we control your blood sugar levels and work towards a smooth delivery, keeping you and your baby healthy.
Once you have delivered your baby, blood sugar levels would normally return to normal.

It is important to get tested after pregnancy if you have had gestational diabetes because there is a higher risk of getting type 2 diabetes in later life.

Obstetrics Melbourne and hypertension in pregnancy

Gestational hypertension

High blood pressure during your pregnancy is another possible complication to look out for. This is a different type of blood pressure problem from preeclampsia and eclampsia. Gestational hypertension can start in the second half of pregnancy. Because we plan your regular checkups as part of our antenatal service, we make sure that we pick it up early and manage your situation carefully. Your blood pressure usually returns to normal levels after the baby is born.

Obstetrics Melbourne and high risk

High-risk pregnancy

If you are under 17 or over 35, your pregnancy may be flagged as a high-risk pregnancy. If there is any type of possible complication, we may call it high risk too.

What happens then is a change in the pattern of your antenatal visits: we plan additional checks, we schedule additional ultrasounds to follow up beyond the usual routine milestone moments in pregnancy.

It is important to know that at Melbourne Mothers, you work with the same obstetrician and the same team throughout your pregnancy. That is how you know that anything you have shared with us, or any information that we got from your scans, is in your file and in our memory as we plan your next consultation.

You are working with an experienced obstetrician/gynaecologist and a team of highly focused and dedicated midwives and nurses. Our goal is to minimise and manage any risks and to work towards the best possible outcome for you and your baby.

Obstetrics Melbourne high blood pressure

Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a complication that may occur in the second half of your pregnancy or after delivery. Routine tests can pick it up, and what it means is that you may have high blood pressure as well as protein in the urine and fluid retention.

It is important that we check for any indications of preeclampsia because it can lead to serious complications for you and your baby.

If there is any sign of the condition we monitor your blood pressure and the urine tests at your regular antenatal appointments will help us manage the situation. In rare cases, severe preeclampsia may require a hospital stay to monitor you more closely. Preeclampsia is normally managed with medications and delivery of the baby and placenta. There is still much we have to learn about this multi-system disease.

obstetrics melbourne
obstetrics melbourne

Obstetrics Melbourne and fertility tests

Pre-pregnancy services (fertility investigations)

Strictly speaking, we wouldn’t call this obstetrics, but maybe you are in a different phase of your life and you are hoping or planning to fall pregnant. An obstetrician/gynaecologist can help you in this phase too, particularly if you are not falling pregnant straight away.

Our pre-pregnancy services consist of tests and consultations that create more clarity in what may become a challenge as you try to conceive. Modern medicine offers a range of fertility investigations (both for male and female fertility) and we use them to make sure you are not losing time when you are planning your family.

Obstetrics Melbourne and prolapse

Pelvic Organ Prolapse treatment

If you are diagnosed with prolapse, it means that your pelvic organs have lost their normal supports.

Vaginal prolapse is fairly common, after childbirth, with age, or after heavy exercise.
We have several ways to treat vaginal prolapse.

Treatment can range from non-invasive to more invasive surgical procedures:

  • Exercise and physiotherapy: Women’s health physios can prescribe specific exercises to treat mild vaginal prolapse.
  • Support structures: A pessary can be inserted to provide support.
  • Prolapse surgery: This is surgical repair of the failing structural supports and is most often tailored to the specific needs of our patients.


We know that a prolapse can severely affect your mental health and physical fitness, particularly when you have only just embarked on your journey as a new mother. You can count on our team to work out the best possible treatment option and to support you through it.

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Obstetrics Melbourne & VBAC

VBAC

A Vaginal Birth After Caesarean is commonly called a VBAC. If you have given birth through a c-section before, your wish may be to give birth vaginally with your current pregnancy. It is possible, and yet we have to look at the possible risks and the reasons why you had a c-section before.

We will discuss your pregnancy and delivery history in detail, assess the risks and have an open conversation about attempting labour or having another c-section, if this is your preferred method to deliver your baby safely.

Obstetrician Melbourne for antenatal care

Antenatal care

Antenatal care is such a wide area and at Melbourne Mothers, we are passionate about every aspect of it. It means that we become your go-to-team, your extended family, for the time of your pregnancy and beyond.

There are a couple of pillars in what we call your antenatal care:

  • Tests, information and scans: We organise your routine tests, pregnancy ultrasounds and the interpretation of the information here at our practice. We are here to make that as convenient as possible.
  • Support: When there is a concern, a complication or anything that needs attention, we are here to listen and help you.
  • Experience: When action needs to be taken, you are in the hands of a highly qualified, experienced and committed team of specialists and professionals.

Obstetrician Melbourne

Birth and delivery

The day you give birth is obviously the focus of your entire pregnancy. We have been on the journey together and we usually have gotten to know each other really well by now.

When the moment has arrived, we will try and follow the plan we have made up together. It could be a vaginal birth or a c-section. 

When we have had to change our plan, you can count on us to give you clear information, and support when the change means choosing a different delivery option.

Obstetrician Melbourne for postnatal care

Postnatal care

Postnatal care refers to all the care you and your newborn will need in the hours, days and weeks after you have given birth in one of Melbourne’s maternity wards. We find that by allowing our parents full-time care in either the hospital or our hotel program, we give the best chance of going home with an added boost of confidence as they embark on parenthood. This is especially important to minimise the risk of postnatal depression.

We are here to care for you as a new mother. We are here to help you get started with breastfeeding. We make sure you and your family can focus on bonding with your newborn, while we organise the follow-up and the support that you need.

Obstetrician Melbourne for shared care

Shared pregnancy care

In some circumstances, we offer a shared pregnancy care model. It means that you plan to give birth in a public hospital but are still given access to our private care package for your antenatal care.

Although you might not be in a position to access delivery in a private hospital, you can still enjoy the benefits of antenatal care in the private sector.

Geriatric pregnancy care

Pregnancy care for older women, career women and athletes

It’s not a nice thing when people are labelled as embarking on a ‘geriatric pregnancy’, but more and more of our women are having babies later in life- well into their mid-forties and even beyond. Beyond the controversial term, we believe that it means that you deserve special care.

If you are pregnant and over 35, or you have a busy work schedule, we work out customised and personalised pregnancy care for your circumstances.

We also have particular expertise in supporting female athletes on their pregnancy journey: from assistance in the pre-conception stage to managing and timing their pregnancy in combination with the right level of physical activity and performance.

Fertility Melbourne

Maximise fertility without IVF

You may experience delays or challenges in falling pregnant and you may have been told that IVF is the only option. At Melbourne Mothers, we have helped hundreds of couples maximise their fertility without IVF.

What we do is look at all the factors that may affect your chances of conceiving: general health, diet, lifestyle, both for you as a woman or for your male partner. Then we make recommendations, plan routine tests, and work towards a higher likelihood of falling pregnant and starting a healthy pregnancy.

Private obstetrician Melbourne

Private obstetrician

If this is your first pregnancy and you are not familiar with private versus public health systems in Australia, or you had a previous pregnancy overseas, then you may need some clarification. Our friendly reception team is here to help you navigate the information about fees, rebates, private health insurance packages and how that all applies to your personal situation.