Specialty Clinics
Antenatal clinics run six days per week at KEMH. We ask you to allow a few hours for your appointment so it’s a good idea to bring a book, and come prepared. We also encourage you to park in a designated car park as the street parking outside our clinics is only for half an hour. Our antenatal clinics usually run out of our East Wing Clinic and our specialised clinics such as Diabetes or Drugs and Alcohol are run out of our Centenary clinic which is best accessed from Hensman Road.
What you will need for your first appointment:
- Medicare card
- Health Care card (if you have one)
- Your appointment letter
- A copy of any test results from your GP (if you have any)
- Your local doctor’s contact details
- If you are from overseas, you will need to bring details of your private health insurance and your passport (some countries have Reciprocal Health Care Arrangements with Australia).
More information about your first visit with us at KEMH is available in our Pregnancy Birth and Your Baby Book (PDF). This book will be provided to you at your first appointment but it can be useful to refer to the book prior to your arrival.
Adolescent Pregnancy Clinic
The Adolescent Clinic at King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH) provides care to adolescents who are under 18 years of age and in their first ongoing pregnancy. Care focuses on the special needs of teenagers and promotes a physically and emotionally safe pregnancy and birth experience.
Appointments
A referral from a General Practitioner (GP) is required for an appointment at the Adolescent Clinic and your first appointment is usually at about 17 weeks of pregnancy. Please bring with you any blood tests or ultrasound results.
The Adolescent Clinic team
The team consists of doctors, midwives, home support midwife, parent education midwives, social workers, clinical psychologists and receptionists. You can see a dietitian and a physiotherapist if required.
East Wing Clinic visits
The Adolescent Clinic is held on Wednesday afternoon in the East Wing Clinic. The environment is friendly and you are invited to use the range of services provided. Your visits to the clinic are important so that a doctor or midwife can check the progress of your pregnancy to ensure both you and your baby are healthy. Partners, parents or other support persons are welcome to attend the clinic with you.
A social worker will see you on your first visit and will offer you support throughout your pregnancy. They can assist you with adjustment to pregnancy and parenting and can help with practical issues e.g. baby gear and finances.
The parent education midwives will invite you and your partner or support person to attend childbirth and parenting classes. They will also see you individually at the clinic to discuss labour, pain relief, birth, feeding and parenting. Hospital tours are available on Wednesdays by appointment.
Clinical psychologists from the Psychological Medicine team can provide you with support when there are mental health issues related to your pregnancy or adjustment to motherhood. They also screen for postnatal depression and anxiety and can provide postnatal support when appropriate.
Home support midwife
You will meet your home support midwife at the Antenatal Clinic. She will visit you at home towards the end of your pregnancy and will provide you with valuable support after your baby is born. She can help you with a wide range of postnatal concerns for you and your baby. She will link you with community and education services available for young mothers in your area. The home support midwife can be contacted on:
Tel: (08) 6458 2738 (answering machine)
Mobile: 0414 227 949 or 0416 729 358
Postnatal appointment
You will be given an appointment to return to the clinic after your baby is born. This is an opportunity for further discussion on parenting issues and contraception.
Auslan / Interpreter Services
These services can be arranged for adolescents with hearing difficulties or those from a non-English speaking background.
Services offered to adolescents
- Support and care during your pregnancy
- guided tour of the hospital
- information about pregnancy, childbirth and parenting
- home visiting midwife services
- assistance with practical issues such as baby gear and accommodation
- four-week postnatal follow-up at the clinic
- assistance with contraception
- counselling and support services
- opportunities to meet other young mothers
- advice on further education.
Tel: (08) 6458 1379 (ask for an Adolescent Clinic Midwife)
Home support midwife
Tel: (08) 6458 2738 (answering machine)
Mobile: 0414 227 949 or 0416 729 358
Pregnancy Drugs and Alcohol Services (WANDAS)
The Women and Newborn Drug and Alcohol Service provide specialist clinical services and professional support to care for pregnant women with drug and alcohol dependence.
Our midwifery-led team is based at King Edward Memorial Hospital and work alongside doctors, addiction specialist, drug and alcohol specialist midwife social workers, dieticians and mental health professionals to ensure patients receive the highest level of care possible.
We routinely care for women with highly complex medical, social and psychiatric conditions and provide support, care and information for pregnant women with alcohol and drug dependency.
We also provide an outreach service to the Women's prison to provide pregnancy outreach care.
Diabetes Services
What is Gestational Diabetes Mellitus? Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a type of diabetes which occurs in pregnancy and goes away after the baby is born. GDM usually occurs after the 24th week of pregnancy and is due to placental hormones interfering with how insulin works. An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is needed to diagnose GDM as most women do not have any symptoms. Developing GDM in pregnancy may result in a change to your planned place of birth. For example if you were planning to birth in the Family Birth Centre or at home, you may be required to birth in the main hospital instead – should more monitoring of you and your baby be required.
Most accessible from Hensman Road, the WNHS Diabetes Service clinics are held in our Centenary House building. The service is a tertiary referral and resource centre for all women with diabetes (including gestational diabetes) that are pregnant or planning pregnancy. Referral to the service is usually through your existing health care provider or your GP.
Maternal Fetal Assessment Unit
You may be asked to visit our Maternal Fetal assessment unit for a variety of reasons. This is an 8-bed unit where you will spend some time monitoring your baby’s movements and heart rate, strapped to a CTG machine.
The unit does have overhead televisions, but it is always a good idea to bring something with you to do as more often than not, women spend a few hours in MFAU.
Maternal Fetal Medicine Services (GOLD Team)
As a level 6 tertiary hospital, KEMH often cares for women who are considered a high-risk during pregnancy, either a maternal high risk, fetal high risk or both.
The Maternal Fetal Medicine Service at King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH) provides a specialist service for women with maternal and fetal complications of pregnancy, and ongoing pregnancy management by the multidisciplinary Maternal Fetal Medicine team.
Women with significant medical problems (e.g. Autoimmune disease, cardiac disease) are seen in the Maternal Fetal Medicine Antenatal Clinic (Gold Team) on a Thursday morning in the East Wing Clinic at KEMH.
Women at risk of preterm birth are seen in a dedicated Preterm Birth Prevention Clinic on a Monday afternoon in East Wing Clinic.
All of these clinics provide a dedicated multidisciplinary approach to care with obstetricians, obstetric physicians, haematologist, anaesthetists, midwives, sonographers, psychological medicine, and social workers in attendance.
The Maternal Fetal Medicine Service also provides preconception review for women with an anticipated complex pregnancy.
Resources
Pathology Services
Run by PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA, our Pathology Department offers a Monday to Friday outpatient service and 24 hour daily inpatient service. Located on the lower ground floor of KEMH and most accessible via Hensman Road, our Pathology centre is available for:
- Glucose Tolerance Tests
- General blood tests and much more.
Preterm Birth Prevention Clinic
The Preterm Birth Prevention Clinic works on a consultative basis where each woman has one, two or three visits for a treatment plan to be formulated for her specific pregnancy. The clinic then refers women back to their usual health care provider.
Antenatal care for women with complicated fetal problems requiring ongoing fetal surveillance is provided within the Diagnostic Imaging Department by Maternal Fetal Medicine specialists and midwives.
A dedicated fetal cardiology service is provided in the Ultrasound Department with two paediatric cardiologists and a cardiac liaison nurse to assess, counsel and provide management for women with fetal cardiac malformations.
See more about the Preterm Birth Prevention Clinic (PDF)
Ultrasound and Imaging
An ultrasound is usually done at around 19 weeks of pregnancy to check the development of your baby. Most women will have had a scan before their first antenatal visit.
Those women who live within the KEMH catchment can ask their GP to refer them to KEMH for a scan before their first antenatal visit otherwise existing KEMH clinic patients will be directly referred.
Resources
Childbirth and Mental Illness Service
Visit the CAMI page.
Food and Nutrition
During pregnancy it is important for both you and your baby that you eat well. Advice about food, diet, nutrition, supplements and weight during pregnancy is available from your midwife, doctor or a dietitian.
Dietitians have specialist knowledge about nutrition during pregnancy and can provide expert advice about any problems with your diet. You can see a dietitian any time during your pregnancy. Our team of Dietitians provide ongoing assessment, advice and education for patients attending the following specialty outpatient clinics:
- Antenatal care including Maternal Obesity and Eating Disorders in Pregnancy
- Diabetes in Pregnancy
- Oncology
- Fertility
- Metabolic Disorders in Pregnancy e.g. Maternal Phenylketonuria (PKU).