From pregnancy to pre-school: embedding the Pregnancy, Birth and Baby service within the maternal health journey
Published: 17 November 2022
Evolution of the service
In 2010, the Pregnancy, Birth and Baby helpline was born. Staffed by maternal child health nurses, the helpline was set up to provide pregnancy support, counselling and information to pregnant women and new parents with a baby under 12 months of age.
Recognising the need from Australians and healthcare professionals for access to trusted information online, the service expanded to include the Pregnancy, Birth and Baby website in January 2013. With 21 million sessions in the last 12 months, the website provides easy access to information and advice on pregnancy, having a baby and baby’s first year.
In the 10 years since launch, the website content has expanded to over 700 pages of information and advice, including dynamic content such as infographics, videos and podcasts. It now houses trusted information from pre-pregnancy to children up to five years of age.
The service has continued to evolve with the information searching behaviour of parents. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby’s social media channels have grown in popularity and become a key avenue for people to connect with the service.
The fortnightly interactive ‘Ask a Nurse’ sessions on Instagram regularly bring in hundreds of questions from concerned parents or parents-to-be. Topics span the entire maternal health journey and range from common pregnancy discomforts, to getting ready for labour and birth or settling a baby to sleep. This channel drives traffic to the website, connecting nearly 30,000 followers with trusted information and resources.
Reaching more Australians than ever before through translated materials
Reflective of Australia’s multicultural community this national service has a large and diverse audience. Some of the more popular videos and brochures have been translated into several languages, including Arabic, Hindi, Punjabi, Chinese Simplified and Chinese Traditional.
Connecting in with our Information Partners
Recognising that the service is one part of a broader maternal health information eco-system, once a quarter, Healthdirect Australia hosts a Peer Support collaborative forum. This forum brings together Pregnancy, Birth and Baby nurses with external 'Peer Support services', including peak bodies and information partners.
A key purpose of this forum is to ensure callers to the helpline receive the best possible care, including appropriate triage and potential referral to other partner services. The forum also provides a unique opportunity to identify improvements and discuss issues and opportunities across the service.
Last reviewed: December 2022