Melbourne Neonatal Network

Our Director of Maternity Services (Medical), Associate Professor Stefan Kane spoke about the risks of free-birthing on 7NEWS Melbourne today.

This follows media reports of a newborn baby being rushed to hospital last week after a free-birth in regional Victoria.

As A/Prof Kane says in this interview:

"(There is) a significant increase in the chance of things not going well for either mother or baby when the birth occurs in the absence of a registered midwife or doctor.

"And that's because sometimes there are pre-existing problems in a pregnancy that haven't been picked up if women haven't received good antenatal care, such as a small baby or high blood pressure, that need particular management.

"And sometimes there are concerns that arise in labour, or at the point of birth or afterwards, that really need training to identify, so appropriate care can be provided and management started to avoid a bad outcome for mother or baby."

Watch A/Prof Kane's interview: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gyfNTaMjmQRY1E0b-Ie2BZNyhOLHva6j/view?usp=sharing

World Premie day is a special day to help raise awareness about the issues associated with preterm birth.

The dedicated team of neonatal paediatricians - A/Prof John Mills, Dr Katelyn Guy, Dr Andy Malikiwi and Dr Elys Green - are proud to be providing care and support to those little ones and their families.