About Maternity Services

Barwon Health’s Maternity Service provides birthing support to more than 2500 families each year.

Services include specialty pregnancy care clinics, including midwives clinics, adolescent pregnancy care, chemical dependency pregnancy care, shared care, midwifery group practice and specialist obstetric clinics. Midwifery Group Practice is a model of care that offers women the continuity of a known midwife as their care provider throughout their pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period.

At University Hospital Geelong we offer families access to our Birth Suite, Maternity Ward and a state-of-the-art Special Care Nursery.

Barwon Health also provides outpatient maternity services at University Hospital Geelong and in local community health centres. The outpatient services located at University Hospital Geelong include the Pregnancy Care Clinic, Midwives Clinic and the Maternity Assessment Unit. Community outpatient services include midwifery-led pregnancy care which includes midwives clinic and midwifery group practice and the early lactation service.

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Meet our Nurse Unit Managers

Pictured: Marie – Maternity Unit Manager – Maternity Ward, Postnatal Care at Home and Lactation Service

Tell us about your career to date?

Marie: Initially, I trained as an Enrolled Nurse in birth suite at the then-named Geelong Hospital. Determined to become a midwife, I went on to study general nursing and then midwifery. Returning to Geelong, I worked in various associate nurse unit manager positions. In 2011, I was appointed to midwifery unit manager in the ante/postnatal (maternity) ward.

What do you love most about maternity services and working at Barwon Health?

Marie: Returning to Barwon Health felt like I was returning home. University Hospital Geelong has a special care nursery with level 5 capability, meaning we are able to care for women and their babies with significant risk however still able to offer an individual focus on the people that we provide care for. I love that Barwon Health is committed to safe, person-centred care and I cannot think of anywhere else I would rather be than working with mothers, babies and their families. We have a close-knit team who are welcoming and inclusive of all new staff who join our team.

What do you look for when recruiting staff?

Marie: Highly-skilled midwives who are motivated by person-centred care. I look for diversity when selecting midwives as each individual brings their own personality to the workforce, enriching the experience for women. I also look for midwives who understand that midwifery is a 24/7 acute facility and staff are required for all shifts.

What development opportunities are available for staff?

Marie: We have midwifery educators and clinical support midwifes who support our employees to grow and develop their career.

What can we offer you

At Barwon Health we harness a diverse and inclusive workforce and offer fantastic staff benefits. Some of these include:

  • Flexible working arrangements and rostering
  • Midwifery Group Practice and working towards a Home Birth Model of Care
  • Professional development opportunities, including access to over 32 organisational curriculum offerings around awareness of self, communication, relationships and results
  • Ability to increase your clinical skills in preforming ARMs, attaching FSE, preforming speculums, inserting cervidil and CRB, IV cannulation and perineal suturing
  • Five days a week of clinical support, education and training
  • Both water birth and water immersion are offered at Barwon Health, enabling you to achieve your water birth competency
  • Paid education and training for FSEP and PROMPT
  • Experienced clinical educators and mentors
  • We are a training hospital for medical and midwifery staff
  • Clinical assessors course available, as well as support rostering to allow for you to work with other midwives that require preceptoring
  • Access to employee wellness facility
  • Salary packaging
  • Social club
  • We support further education with paid time for work-related study
  • Accrued days off (one per month for full time employees)

Page last updated: October 31, 2024