Eastern Health maternity services offers a variety of pregnancy care options at each of the Eastern Health hospitals. Our team of doctors and midwives provide a high level of care and expertise to support you throughout your pregnancy and birth.
Care options vary and are dependant on your general health and individual needs.
Early Pregnancy Assessment Service (EPAS) is available at Box Hill and Angliss hospitals. This service is for women who experience PV bleeding and pain prior to 20 weeks gestation.
They must be haemodynamically stable and not at high risk for ectopic pregnancy. Women who do not meet these criteria must attend an Emergency Department
Service provision is strictly by referral and appointment only.
Midwifery Group Practice (MGP) is a Continuity of Care model offered at Eastern Health for low-risk women and their families.
In this model you will be paired with a primary midwife who will be available to you throughout your pregnancy, birth and immediately postpartum, with a secondary midwife as back-up.
This midwife works within a small team, some of whom you may meet along the way.
MGP work in collaboration with our services within Eastern Health, these include obstetrics and allied health practitioners to provide you with optimal care.
We welcome pregnancies where the woman is healthy and well, pregnant with one baby (not twins or triplets) and have a BMI of between 18 – 35.
Women who have had a previous caesarean section are eligible if they are attempting a vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC).
Unfortunately, due to the limited spots within the program (3-4 per month per midwife), if you wish to engage in the support of a private midwife, you will be ineligible for MGP care. This is due to MGP being the primary midwife for your care and offering a Continuity Care model.
Following an uncomplicated birth women are expected to be discharged after 4-6hours, and will received continued MGP support in the home.
As part of the Eastern Health commitment to Closing the Gap, MGP welcome First Nations Families to the service.
Please discuss this model of care with your GP early in your pregnancy if you are wanting a referral to the program. Referrals to the service need to be written and sent in by your GP to our Maternity Bookings Department via HealthLink. Once accepted one of our Maternity Bookings Staff or MGP midwives will contact you regarding being accepted into the program.
Midwifery Care at Eastern Health if for women and birthing people with no medical or obstetric complexities and an uncomplicated pregnancy. We define this as the ‘Green Pathway’. We offer continuity model of care by midwives for this model to enhance individualised antenatal care. While we aim for continuity, your care may involve a multidisciplinary collaboration when required.
In additional to our Green Pathway Midwifery Continuity clinic, Eastern Health also offers Midwifery Group Practice (MGP) and Specialist Maternity Services (SMS) pathways of care. “
SMS is a Midwifery led team focusing on the care of pregnant people and their families who need additional support in pregnancy and the initial postnatal period.
A small team-based model is aimed at encouraging continuity of care during the antenatal period. The team uses a multidisciplinary approach to care and regularly collaborates with other services within Eastern Health and the community to provide support specific to each person’s needs.
The SMS program is aimed for women and families with complex social needs, maternity care may be provided in partnership with other agencies including children’s services, family violence teams, addiction services, youth and adolescent pregnancy support services, learning disability services and mental health services.
Eastern Health do not offer publicly funded homebirth. Pregnancy care for homebirth is usually provided by private midwives in your home or in the community.
As part of your homebirth plan, your midwife will discuss booking you into Eastern Health as a back-up. You will be offered an appointment at Box Hill or Angliss Hospital with the midwifery and/or obstetric team. The intention of this appointment is to share information about Eastern Health and discuss your pregnancy.
If any pregnancy health problems come up, you or your midwife can refer your care to Eastern Health for pregnancy, labour or after birth care.
What is the PEARL clinic?
The PEARL clinic is a specialist antenatal clinic for birthing people with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40kg/m2 or more in pregnancy.
PEARL stands for Pregnancy, Elevated BMI, Antenatal Risk Reduction and Lifestyle (PEARL) clinic.
This clinic involves a team of midwives, doctors and allied health professionals working to provide sensitive, evidence-based care to birthing people with high BMI.
The PEARL clinic runs on Tuesdays at Eastern Health Box Hill Antenatal Clinic
Why have I been referred to the PEARL clinic?
All birthing people with BMI >40kg/m2 birthing at Box Hill Hospital are welcome to be cared for through the PEARL clinic. The PEARL clinic is aimed at reducing your risk of developing common complications associated with increased weight in pregnancy and optimising your health and wellbeing. You will also get the opportunity for continuity of care (where care is provided by the same clinician) with a midwife and a doctor, and longer outpatient appointments.
At Eastern Health, women and birthing people with obstetric or medical complexities receive care from the multidisciplinary team with the lead care provider being an obstetrician. We define this pathway as the “Red Pathway”.
This pathway involves an individualised plan of antenatal or labour care tailored to meet the needs of the pregnant person with medical and or obstetric complexities.
This pathway of care may involve referral to Maternal Fetal Medicine, Obstetric Medicine amongst others in our multidisciplinary team.
MFM Maternal Fetal Medicine
MFM pathway is an individualised plan of antenatal and labour care tailored to meet the needs of the pregnant person with specialist care from MFM Obstetricians, with multidisciplinary input from Obstetric Medicine as well as other specialist physicians.
Obstetric Medicine
Obstetric Medicine works with obstetrics, maternal-fetal medicine and general medicine. The Eastern Health Obstetric Medicine Service was established to provide co-ordinated medical input into pre-pregnancy, antenatal and post-natal care of women with medical disorders, risks or complications.
Private in public
Your choice to engage a Private Obstetrician to care for you during your pregnancy is available at Eastern Health. Please be aware that this option is subject to your allocated Birthing Hospital and will incur out of pocket costs.
Please see attached list of private obstetricians who offer care through Eastern Health.
Private Obstetricians who Deliver at Box Hill Hospital (PDF,208KB)
Shared Maternity Care is a model of care in which a woman is cared for by the hospital and a community-based shared maternity care affiliate, such as a GP. Its aim is to provide high quality community-based care and is appropriate for women who have a low-risk pregnancy. The Shared Maternity GP provides the majority of antenatal and postnatal care, while the hospital manages the birth and immediate postnatal care.
Read more Maternity Shared-care with your GP