• First-time mother, Jacqui Young credits Eastern Health midwifery group practice team for her exceptional antenatal and postpartum experience. • This Patient Experience Week (29 April – 3 May) Eastern Health celebrates the positive impacts healthcare workers make to patient experiences • The midwifery group practice team is a one on one publicly funded midwife care programme in the hospital which takes care of expecting families from their antenatal through to postpartum timeline.
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The right midwife can make a world of difference to an expecting family.
This Patient Experience Week (29 April – 3 May) Eastern Health celebrates the positive impacts healthcare workers make to patient experiences. Clinical Midwife Specialist, Tess Alexander, has left quite the mark on first-time mother, Jacqui Young's family.
"Part of what I said when I wrote my feedback was even when Tess would listen to my surges over the phone, she was so amazing, because she knew where I was just by listening. Who is amazing like that, who can tell from listening on the phone? When Tess came for the home visits, it was like hanging out with a friend. I adore her so much. For my next pregnancy I hope to have Tess again," Ms Young said.
Ms Alexander forms part of the Eastern Health midwifery group practice team.
"The midwifery group practice team is a one on one publicly funded midwife care programme in the hospital. It's run by both Box Hill and Angliss sites. The idea is that women and families have the same midwife throughout their pregnancy journey," Ms Alexander said.
Ms Alexander and her team empower clients, making them feel confident to not only give birth, but feel comfortable to ask for guidance along the way.
The midwifery group practice team help families along their maternity journey, even going beyond the birthing suite.
"I work on call for their labour, birth and after birth as well. We visit them in the home, so they're getting all that physical and emotional support when they go home with their baby into transition of becoming a family or extending their family," Ms Alexander said.
Ms Alexander had a wealth of knowledge to pass on to first-time mum, Ms Young, who opted to work right up until she gave birth to little Lena.
"I had the most amazing experience going through Box Hill. I got in with Tess, and my life has been better for it…Tess is very knowledgeable. She pointed me in all the right directions. She was able to recommend different sources of information and told me what to listen to, or not listened to, and sent me through books to read and podcasts to listen to.
"Tess was constantly just checking in on me making sure I was looking after myself. Without her doing that and checking in, I don't think I would have had the experience that I had. I had a very long labour, I opted to not have any other support person in the room, which was great for me just having my husband but I think that he needed a support person, and that person was Tess," Ms Young said.
