Townsville Women’s Centre welcomes ‘beautiful’ new midwifery clinics

Expectant mothers and those who have just welcomed children will be able to access quality care closer to home thanks to a new partnership.

Midwife Linnea Eriksson, expectant mother Marie Grace Uwera and the women's centre co-ordinator Cathy Crawford. Photo; Ian Hitchock.

A new joint venture between Townsville University Hospital and the Women’s Centre is aiming to make maternity woes a thing of the past with increased support for new and expecting mothers.

A community clinic, staffed by midwives from TUH, will now be run out of the community centre in Aitkenvale in order to better meet the needs of the public.

TUH’s acting nurse unit manager for women and children’s clinics Audra Davis said maintaining continuity of care for all mothers was a priority.

“We know that not all women can get to or like going to hospital and this means they aren’t attending appointments with a midwife or receiving ongoing care,” Ms Davis said.

“The Women’s Centre is in a central location close to public transport and was really willing to host clinics in the space.

Midwife Linnea Eriksson, expectant mother Marie Grace Uwera and the women's centre co-ordinator Cathy Crawford. Photo: Ian Hitchock.

“Our goal is to have a regular midwife attend the clinic, which provides women with continuity of care, where they are familiar and comfortable with the midwife and are supported during pregnancy and after pregnancy.

“This continuity of care is the gold standard for women and is key in improving antenatal, birthing and post-natal outcomes.”

The Women’s Centre, located close to the corner of Charles and Nathan streets in Aitkenvale, provides an extensive range of services to women in need, including housing and domestic violence support.

The new clinic is set to run weekly on Thursdays, with a midwifery navigator providing a drop-in service on Tuesday afternoons.

Women’s Centre co-ordinator Cathy Crawford said women who make use of the clinic’s services will be able to do so in a safe, welcoming environment, closer to home.

“The Women’s Centre is a safe and comfortable location with free carparking and a non-clinical environment for women who need access to midwifery services but don’t want to travel to hospital,” Ms Crawford said.

“Women who access the midwifery clinic here are doing so in an alternative, woman only setting where they can also gain access to the variety of support services and activities we offer on site.

“This may include counselling or sexual assault support or activities such as yoga, writing or music groups and art workshops.”

The first of the workshops to be held at the centre had run ‘beautifully’ and Ms Crawford said she was eager to see what other services they can help provide to the community.

“We’re happy to play a part in improving health care offerings for the community and this is a partnership that we would love to see grow.”

Originally published as Townsville Women’s Centre welcomes ‘beautiful’ new midwifery clinics