Gympie’s maternity unit is well staffed, highly skilled and boasts an amazing view of the mountains

While many Gympie families choose to deliver their babies on the Sunshine Coast or Brisbane - or are advised to because they are considered ‘high risk’ - there are plenty of reasons to stay close to home

New Gympie mum Nicole Kennedy at the Gympie Hospital Maternity Unit with her daughter Tjarli Link, born at 2.30am on May 11, 2021 weighing just over 3kg. Tjarli is the first child of Nicole and Leroy Link.

Birthing figures at the Gympie Hospital over the past 12-15 months have remained steady, though there was a definite spike in February, about nine months after the outbreak of COVID in Queensland and the subsequent lockdown.

In fact, Gympie Hospital Nurse Unit Manager of Maternity, Women’s Health and Paediatrics, Shaneen Osborne, said the total number of births in most months over the past year had fallen below or equalled the normal monthly average (See table below for breakdown).

With 36 registered midwives looking after the mums and bubs who choose Gympie Hospital, the maternity unit offered “much more personal care” in addition to all the services available on the coast, except possibly a bath, Ms Osborne said.

The midwives were also able to spend more time with mothers and babies than the larger, busier hospitals to the Gympie region’s south. And the view from the Gympie Maternity and Women’s Health Unit is stunning.

Birthing figures at Gympie Hospital for the past 15 months, January 2020 to April 2021.

From January 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021, a total of 49 women under the care of Gympie Maternity Services were transferred to Sunshine Coast University Hospital or a Brisbane hospital for varying reasons. 

“The Gympie Maternity Unit provides care for women throughout pregnancy, birth and beyond, including home visits,” Ms Osborne said.

“The unit offers epidurals, elective and emergency Caesarean section. The unit is a Baby Friendly Health Initiative accredited facility with lactation consultants available for breastfeeding assistance.”

New Gympie mum Nicole Kennedy was classified as a “high risk” pregnancy and so was advised to have her baby on the Sunshine Coast. But once little Tjarli was safely born, Nicole returned to the Gympie Hospital for her post natal care, where she said on Thursday the care and service had been “absolutely excellent”.