Maternity: Paediatric Care

Paediatric Care

Paediatricians are doctors who have specialised in the care of children.  Their role is primarily with sick babies and infants, children who have severe acute illnesses such as pneumonia or meningitis, and the care of children with chronic conditions such as epilepsy, cerebral palsy, or asthma.

Paediatricians do not routinely attend vaginal births or elective caesarean sections, however  a Paediatrician will attend a birth if there is a specific concern, for example multiple births, premature babies, breech deliveries, emergency caesarean sections, or a previously identified problem.

Paediatric care is available at Pindara 24 hours per day 365 days per year. A Paediatrician will examine your baby in the first 24 hours of its life to ensure there are no apparent congenital abnormalities or other major concerns.

You may wish to choose a specific Paediatrician, alternatively a Paediatrician can be recommended by your Obstetrician. This consult is also an opportunity for you to discuss baby management issues, any family history of relevance, or other concerns you might have.

The Paediatrician will visit you and your baby, on a regular basis, during your hospital stay. They will look for, concerns with feeding; jaundice; and particularly to check that no heart murmurs develop.

The Paediatrician will also organise to see your baby several weeks later, to check that all the normal developmental milestones are being achieved and that your baby is developing a good routine.

Subsequent to this visit, the baby will then be referred back to your General Practitioner for ongoing care, and would then only need to see a Paediatrician if there were specific concerns identified by the General Practitioner.

You will receive a bill for this medical care which may include a gap payment.  Unless there are some specific concerns, a baby does not generally need to be admitted to the Special Care Nursery and therefore medical care will be as an outpatient.  This may mean that you are able to utilise the Medicare safety net.

Some parents may wish to have their sons circumcised.  The policy of the Royal Australian College of Physicians is that there is no good medical indication to have this procedure performed.  Circumcisions are not performed while babies are at Pindara hospital.  This procedure can however be organised as an outpatient by the parents.

The Paediatricians attending Pindara hospital hope you have an enjoyable, supportive, and informative stay while at Pindara and a happy and healthy future with your child.

Special Care Nursery

Our Special Care Nursery provides ongoing care for sick / premature babies not yet ready for discharge to home. Parents are encouraged to visit their baby in the Special Care Nursery at any time.  However, occasionally they may be asked to leave the Nursery while a procedure on another baby is in progress.

The Special Care Nursery has:

• The latest equipment should your baby happen to be unwell
• Expert nursing and medical care and equipment should your baby require C.P.A.P. ventilation.
• Assistance for babies needing full ventilation while waiting transfer to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
• Babies from the age of 32 weeks gestation can be admitted to our Special care Nursery

Due to babies’ increased risk of infection, a strict visiting policy is implemented for all other visitors.  If you have a baby admitted to the Special Care Nursery you will receive a Parent’s Information Booklet which details the visiting policy and other information pertaining to the nursery.

NB.  All visitors must wash hands thoroughly on entry to the nursery.