Pregnancy, Birth and Baby

Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Opens in new tab) is a free national helpline, video and website service that supports expecting parents, parents, families and carers of children aged up to five years.

Across these channels, consumers can access free information and advice in a manner that best suits their needs and circumstances, allowing them to make informed decisions during pregnancy, birth and parenthood.

All information developed and provided by the service is subject to Healthdirect Australia's rigorous clinical governance framework.

Established in 2010, this trusted service has been continuously delivered by Healthdirect Australia on behalf of the Australian Government.

Helpline

The helpline (1800 882 436) is staffed by maternal child health nurses, who are dual-registered midwives and nurses with additional qualifications in child and family health nursing.

These maternal child health nurses provide parents with non-judgemental support and advice across a broad range of topics, including during pregnancy loss, pregnancy decisions, perinatal anxiety and depression. They provide referrals to local health services when necessary.

The helpline operates from 7am to midnight (AET), 7 days a week.

Consumers can also speak to a maternal child health nurse in their preferred language by calling the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) on 131 450 (available 24 hours, 7 days).

Digital channels

The Pregnancy, Birth and Baby website (Opens in new tab) offers a wide range of self-help articles, videos and tools. All content is prepared by professional medical writers and has gone through a strict quality assurance process (Opens in new tab).

Web content is supported by a wide range of content from leading Australian health organisations (Opens in new tab).

The online service has evolved to offer online tools for people to use during their parenthood journey, such as the due date calculator (Opens in new tab), healthdirect Symptom Checker (Opens in new tab), and Pregnancy, Birth and Baby service finder (Opens in new tab), powered by the National Health Services Directory.

The service engages with consumers via social media channels.

Consumers can also subscribe to two free newsletters which offer information relevant to various stages of pregnancy and early parenthood.

Video consultation

The service channels are integrated so consumers can move easily from website to telephone to video using the healthdirect Video Call platform.

A video consultation provides a visual connection between the caller and maternal child health nurse, enabling a more personalised interaction for those who prefer this option.

Continuous improvement and evaluation

Our Clinical Governance team ensures the continuous evaluation of the Pregnancy, Birth and Baby service, including the management of incidents, complaints and feedback to ensure consistently high standards of customer service.

Our framework of continuous evaluation and research, combined with quality information and advice from qualified health professionals ensures Pregnancy, Birth and Baby provides value to the community.