Pregnancy—having your baby at Mater Mothers' Private Hospital
Welcome to Mater Mothers’ Private Hospital
Mater Mothers’ Private Hospital has been providing exceptional care for mothers and babies for 50 years and we are proud of the services that we offer. Our experienced and dedicated health professionals and support staff will do everything they can to ensure the wellbeing of you and your baby.
We understand that preparing for the birth of your baby can make you feel excited, anxious, overjoyed—in fact a whole range of emotions. We have prepared this information to answer some of your questions and to help you feel comfortable about coming to hospital for your baby’s birth.
Please take your time to read the following information carefully.
All enquiries 07 3163 1918
Visiting hours: 10 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 8 pm daily.
To ensure that you and your baby receive adequate rest visitors, except for your partner or support person, will not be admitted outside these times.
Telephone calls will be diverted to ward reception between 1 pm and 3 pm.
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Warning signs in pregnancy
If you experience or notice any of the following symptoms from 20 weeks of pregnancy it is important to contact the hospital on 07 3163 7000 or your obstetrician immediately:
- Vaginal bleeding.
- Your waters break.
- Period like pain in your lower tummy that comes and goes regularly.
- Any change in colour or odour of vaginal discharge.
- Abdominal cramps with or without diarrhoea.
- Lower backache.
- Dizziness or blurred vision, particularly if accompanied by headaches.
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What to bring to hospital
We suggest the following items be brought with you at the time you are admitted to hospital for the birth of your baby—please label all your personal belongings.
Please note: large suitcases may need to be taken home for the duration of your stay as storage is limited and these large items may be a hazard in an emergency situation.
For you
- Comfortable clothes for labour
- Personal toiletries for you and your partner
- Casual comfortable day wear
- Sleepwear, dressing gown and slippers
- Underwear—seven to 10 pairs
- Maternity bras—three or four
- Nursing pads
- Maternity or super size sanitary pads—two packs
- Tissues
For your baby
- Small beanie or hat—for use immediately after birth
- Six warm outfits
- Six singlets
- A blanket or wrap for going home
- A large packet of baby wipes
One packet of newborn disposable nappies will be provided to you on admission.
For labour
- Camera
- Favourite music
- Massage oil
- Swimwear for you partner to wear in the shower
Cameras may be used in birth suite at the discretion of the medical and midwifery staff involved in the birth of your baby. Please respect the privacy of staff by asking permission first. Video images are not permitted.
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Where to go for admission
Mater Mothers’ Private Hospital’s main entrance is located on level 5. You will need to go through the security boom gate on Raymond terrace to access the hospital. Your partner or support person may park in the designated set down/pick up area at the front to the building for a period of five minutes.
Please go to main reception, where you will be directed to the Pregnancy Assessment and Observation Unit or Birth Suite, both located on level 5.
If you are in strong labour and unable to move from the car, please remain in the car and ask your partner or support person to go to main reception and request immediate assistance.
After hours admissions
The security boom gates are unattended between 8.30 pm and 6 am but there is an intercom to enable you to contact security, who will remotely operate the boom gate. The front doors of the hospital will also be electronically locked between 8.30 pm and 6 am. There is an intercom at the front door that can be used to contact reception—main reception is staffed 24 hours a day.
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Parking
Parking is available in Mater’s Hancock Street Car Park and Mater Hill car parks. These multi-level car parks are automated, which means patrons are required to pre-pay for parking prior to exiting. For your convenience, several pay stations are positioned at prominent locations in all four car parks.
Please note: Hancock Street Car Park uses a ‘Smart Card’ ticketing system. These cards may only be used at Hancock Street Car Park. In addition to being able to pay for parking at pay stations located in the lift lobbies prior to exit, if you park within Hancock Street Car Park and wish to use a credit card, you may pay for parking at the exit stations as you leave the car park.
Weekly parking ticket options
There are three options available to you:
- A five day ticket—for five consecutive days, with multi-entry and exits in the one day.
- A three day ticket—for three consecutive days, with multi-entry and exits in the one day.
- A five exit ticket—valid for five single exits, for up to two months.
You can purchase a weekly parking ticket from the service centres in two locations—Level 1, Hancock Street Car Park for use in Hancock Street Car Park only and Level 4, Mater Hill West Car Park for use in Mater Hill and the Mater Medical Centre car parks.
The service centre hours of operation are as follows:
- Hancock Street Car Park: 7.30 am to 9.30 pm Monday to Friday; 8 am to 9 pm on weekends.
- Mater Hill car parks: 6.30 am to 9.30 pm Monday to Friday; 8 am to 9 pm on weekends.
- Please note: the service centres may be unattended between 6.30 pm and closing but the car park attendants are still available to help you. Please use the call button at the service centre to call for assistance. On public holidays please check the hours of operation sign for each service centre.
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Preadmission service
Antenatal education
Mater Mothers’ Private Hospital offers a range of education programs to inform and empower you as you approach the birth of your baby, and the early weeks that follow.
Our Birthing and Babies classes are facilitated by midwives, physiotherapists and dieticians who are skilled in childbirth education and women’s health. These classes also provide you with the opportunity to meet some of the other women you may see on the postnatal ward after the birth of your baby.
As our Birthing and Babies’ antenatal classes are very popular it is important to book as early as possible to avoid any disappointment.
For further information please contact our Bookings Officer on 07 3163 8847 or visit maternity.mater.org.au.
Preadmission telephone interview
Our Preadmission Service conducts telephone interviews with all women booked to have their baby at Mater Mothers’ Private Hospital. These telephone interviews are conducted by experienced midwives at approximately the 24th week of your pregnancy and take about 20 minutes to complete. All information provided is completely confidential.
During the interview we will ask you questions regarding your obstetric, medical, surgical and family history. This information enables us to provide you with the most appropriate care and also allows us to respond to any concerns or questions you may have.
Private health insurance
We recommend that you talk with your private health insurance provider during your pregnancy, so that you are fully aware of your entitlements, including neonatal special or intensive care, and whether you will be required to pay any excess payments.
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Our maternity facilities
Birth suite
Mater’s well appointed and spacious birthing rooms, located on level 5, provide a comfortable and safe atmosphere for the birth of your baby. Each birthing room is self-contained with a television, telephone, CD player and aromatherapy burner with the majority of medical equipment discreetly concealed. Baths are available in most birthing rooms for warm water immersion during labour.
Your midwife will help you achieve your individual birth plan and make the most of pain relief options, if required. Midwives, obstetricians and paediatricians work collaboratively to ensure that you, and your baby, receive exceptional care.
Your support person may accompany you into the birthing room during labour and the birth of your baby. We support children at labour and birth. If a child is to attend the birth, please prepare them for this special occasion—what they might expect to see, hear and experience. Also, arrange for someone other than your support person to look after your child during the birth should they, perhaps, need to leave the room.
A virtual tour of our birthing rooms can be located at maternity.mater.org.au.
Operating suite
If you have a caesarean birth with a spinal or epidural anaesthetic, we welcome one support person into the operating suite. If you’re a having a caesarean birth with a general anaesthetic your support person is not permitted in the operating suite. Children are not permitted in the operating suite.
Skin to skin contact with your baby is encouraged as soon as possible after a caesarean birth and is facilitated by a midwife to assist you; both in the operating suite and the recovery room.
Your private postnatal room
After the birth of your baby you will be transferred to one of our postnatal wards. Each private room is designed to ensure your stay is comfortable and includes an en-suite bathroom, baby bathing facilities, telephone, television, refrigerator, and tea and coffee making facilities.
Your partner or support person may stay overnight on the day bed provided in each room. For the courtesy of others, partners must remain appropriately dressed at all times. As you are in a hospital, midwives and nurses may enter your room at any time during the day or night. Unfortunately children are not permitted to stay overnight with you.
A virtual tour of our private postnatal rooms can be located at maternity.mater.org.au.
Meals
Your meals will be freshly prepared each day and served from a mobile buffet cart outside your room. This allows you to choose your meal according to what you feel like eating at the time.
Your partner may also enjoy a meal from the buffet. These meals will incur an additional charge.
If you have specific cultural or dietary requirements, please let your midwife know as soon as you can so that appropriate meals can be provided.
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Your baby's birth
Supporting breastfeeding with skin to skin contact
Ask to have skin to skin contact with your baby as soon as possible after birth. Your baby should have warmed blankets placed over their back and a hat placed on their head. The rest of your baby should be in direct contact with your skin. This will help them to stabilise their temperature and start to initiate an instinctive feeding response that will enhance bonding and breastfeeding establishment. Your baby’s instinctual responses to breastfeed are heightened in the first two hours after birth. Skin to skin contact during this time increases those responses and the likelihood that your baby will attach and feed well at the breast. It will also help to stop some of the shaking you may experience directly after birth.
Baby identification
Your baby will have two identification tags attached around each ankle immediately following birth. Please be aware that these must remain on your baby while you are both in our care. If either of these tags falls off at any time please let your midwife or nurse know without delay.
Medications for your baby
Vitamin K and Hepatitis B are both offered, by injection, to all babies soon after birth. For further information about either of these injections please speak to your obstetrician. You will be asked to provide your consent prior to these being given to your baby.
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Postnatal care
The midwives and nurses caring for you will explain what you can expect in the first few days after your baby’s birth; what you may experience physically and emotionally and how to care for your baby.
You will be encouraged to take an active role in caring for your new baby with assistance from your midwife and nurse. You will be offered support; education and information on a range of topics to provide you and your partner with the knowledge, strategies and confidence that are essential when taking your new baby home.
Rooming in
Mater Mothers’ Private Hospital practices rooming-in. This allows mothers and babies to remain together 24 hours a day. Rooming-in helps mothers bond with their babies and gain confidence in their care. Research shows that mothers actually get more sleep when rooming-in with their baby.
A mother who is rooming-in is able to attend to her baby when feeding cues are displayed, helping her establish a good milk flow by promoting milk let-down. This means you are less likely to have hard sore breasts, your milk supply will become established, and breastfeeding will get off to a good start. You also make antibodies from your own body and environment that you pass on to your baby through your breast milk. This means your baby is at less risk of infection in the first few days when they are not separated from you and remain in close contact.
Baby care assistants
Mater Mothers’ Private Hospital is committed to providing mothers and babies with the best possible support and environment in the early days of parenthood. Baby care assistants are available between 11 pm and 6 am every night to assist you with settling your baby and allowing you to get some much needed rest.
The baby care assistant will help you to settle your baby in your room as a first preference. This allows both you and your baby to remain together, which is optimal for breastfeeding success, and reduces the risk of infection.
Feeding your baby
The evidence available indicates that breastfeeding has a range of health benefits for infants, children and mothers. Mater Mothers’ Private Hospital promotes, encourages and supports breastfeeding. We believe that almost every woman, when given accurate information and education with adequate support and encouragement, can achieve successful lactation and breastfeeding.
The experienced midwives caring for you and your baby, in each postnatal ward, are able to provide you with breastfeeding information, assistance and support. If you, or your baby, have special requirements your midwife or doctor may refer you to Mater Mothers’ Breastfeeding Support Centre. This specialist service is run by qualified lactation consultants who are experienced in caring for newborn, preterm and special needs babies.
Mater Mothers’ Private Hospital endorses the World Health Organization’s recommendation that breastfeeding is the best source of nourishment for newborn infants. However, we respect your right to choose how you feed your baby, and will support your decision with guidance and advice.
If you have chosen to bottle feed your baby, please bring with you one tin of newborn formula, bottles, teats, a soft bottle brush and an airtight container for storage.
Safe sleeping for your baby
To provide a safe sleeping environment for your baby, the following guidelines are recommended:
- Put your baby on their back to sleep, from birth.
- Sleep your baby with their head uncovered.
- Don’t expose your baby to cigarette smoke.
- Put your baby’s feet at the bottom of the cot.
- Use a cot that meets the Australian standard for cots.
- Fit the cot with a firm, clean mattress that fits snugly in the cot.
- Tuck in the bed clothes so there is no loose bedding.
- Remove quilts, doonas, pillows and cot bumpers form the cot.
For further information please visit the SIDS and Kids website.
For information regarding safe co-sleeping or bed sharing with your baby visit:
Going home
The discharge time from Mater Mothers’ Private Hospital is 10 am each day. Your obstetrician and paediatrician will check the wellbeing of you and your baby before you both leave hospital.
Please ensure that you have pre-arranged for someone to be available to pick you up at 10 am on your anticipated day of discharge.
Queensland legislation requires that all children from birth to seven years are placed in an approved ageappropriate child restraint that is installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Please ensure that your baby’s restraint has been fitted prior to discharge and that you are familiar with its use. Further information on child restraint laws may be located at: transport.qld.gov.au/childrestaints
Maternity homecare program
The Maternity homecare program has been designed to provide new mothers with the opportunity to return home early. This program allows you to begin your family life in the comfortable, familiar and private surroundings of your home while being supported and educated by specially trained visiting midwives.
You may choose to take part in this program at any time during your pregnancy or after the birth of your baby. You may also wish to discuss this option with your obstetrician.
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Additional services
Breastfeeding Support Centre
Mater Mothers’ Breastfeeding Support Centre is a specialist service available to you during your stay at Mater, as well as a support centre after you return home. The service is run by qualified lactation consultants who are experienced in caring for newborn, preterm and special needs babies, with complex breastfeeding problems.
The centre is open between 8.30 am and 3.30 pm, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).
Health and Wellness at Mater
Mater Health and Wellness provides clients with access to a team of leading allied health specialists as an extension of the exceptional care provided through Mater private hospitals.
Services provided include physiotherapy, occupational therapy, audiology, psychology and counselling, homebased therapies, nutrition and dietetics and speech pathology.
Mater Centre for Maternal Fetal Medicine
If either you or your baby have existing or potential or high risk medical concerns, your obstetrician may refer you to the Mater Centre for Maternal Fetal Medicine. Mater’s specialist maternal fetal medicine team uses state-of-theart ultrasound technology to assess your baby’s condition in the uterus. Certain conditions can be diagnosed and appropriate treatment can be offered which may improve the outcome for your baby. Pre-pregnancy counselling is always provided for high-risk women.
The Mater Centre for Maternal Fetal Medicine conducts antenatal screening such as ultrasound screening, and diagnostic tests including Amniocentesis and Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) upon referral from your obstetrician. If you would like to know more about these tests, please speak to your obstetrician.
Please note that a fee is charged for these ultrasound examinations and investigations.
Neonatal Critical Care Unit
If your baby is born very premature, is sick or requires close observation, they will be admitted to the Neonatal Critical Care Unit where they will receive specialised medical and nursing care. This unit consists of intensive care and special care nurseries and is situated on level 6 of Mater Mothers’ Hospitals.
Throughout your baby’s stay any treatment required will be explained to you. You will be encouraged to be involved in your baby’s care wherever possible as this helps to establish and strengthen your bond with them.
Your baby’s intensive care may involve private medical and allied health specialists. If so, their services will be billed to you. We recommend that during your pregnancy, you check with your private health insurance provider about your entitlements for neonatal specialist care.
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Additional facilities
Café: located on level 5 and open between 6.30 am and 6 pm Monday to Friday; and between 8 am and 5 pm on weekends and public holidays.
Chapel: located on level 5 and available for quiet reflection and prayer
Chaplains: sacraments available on request— representatives from most Christian denominations and other religions can be contacted.
Ladies Hospital Auxiliary: Mater Mother’s Hospital Auxiliary has a gift stall on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. They sell a range of hand crafted baby clothes, homemade preserves and baked good and the money raised helps purchase vital equipment for the care of mothers and newborn babies at Mater.
Laundry: a washing machine, dryer and ironing facilities are provided on each ward for your personal laundry.
Pastoral care: pastoral care workers are available every day to offer personal, emotional and spiritual support to women and their families
Patient representative: If you wish to pass on a compliment or have concerns regarding any aspect of your care, the patient representative can be of assistance to you and your partner.
Telephones: all rooms have a telephone. Local calls are free of charge and phone cards will be required for long distance and mobile phone calls. Mobile phones must not be used in corridors as this may disturb other women and babies.
Television: Every room has a remote controlled television which also screens a range of educational programs, and patient information.
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Health and Wellness and new parenting
Mater Health and Wellness offers a package of flexible individualised wellness services to help you prepare for and adapt to your new role as a parent.
Below are just a few of the services which are available to new parents and babies.
Physiotherapy
- For mothers—assess your core muscles and progress your exercise and fitness program to maximise early and safe recovery after birth. 60 minutes $95.
- For baby and for you—baby developmental handling and infant massage. 30 minutes $55; 60 minutes $95.
Nutrition and dietetics
- Is my baby growing well? 60 minutes $90
- Your baby’s first foods—introducing solids. 60 minutes $90
Lactation consultant
Breastfeeding your child. 60 minutes $90; 90 minutes $135
Occupational therapy
Baby care—learn how play is important for promoting your baby’s development. 60 minutes $90
Infant massage
Occupational therapists and physiotherapists trained in infant massage offer parents the opportunity to learn these skills. Infant massage has been shown to facilitate bonding and improve the healthy development of infants.
Mater Health and Wellness is located on level 2, Mater Private Clinic, 550 Stanley Street, South Brisbane. For further information or to make an appointment please phone 07 3163 6000 or visit the Mater Health and Wellness website.
By pre-purchasing a package of five individualised consultations you will receive a 20 per cent discount. The five consultations can be purchased in any combination and tailored specifically to your needs.
Please note: Mater Health and Wellness staff are recognised providers with private health funds and Medicare. Rebates for services are available where applicable.
Last modified 4:35 PM, 27 January 2012
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