Australian Capital Territory

W A NT SA QLD NSW VIC T AS ACT

Co-Lead


Boon Lim: Co-Lead
Roberto Orefice: Co-Lead
Julia Smythe: Preterm Birth Prevention Midwife

In 2018, 7% of births at the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children in were born preterm.

  • Centenary Hospital for Women and Children (CHWC), Canberra is the tertiary maternity hospital for the ACT and Southern NSW, covering a population of around 500,000. 

    The maternity unit conducts around 3800 births per annum; around 8% are born preterm.  There are a total of 28 Neonatal Intensive Care and Special Care Nursery cots in the unit. 

    Over the last 5 years, the Maternity Unit at CHWC has seen a 3% increase in births annually.
  • The Preterm Birth Prevention Initiative in the ACT was launched on 28 February 2019 with funding generously donated by the Liangis family in Canberra.  A Preterm Birth Prevention Clinic has been developed and this is staffed by a Midwife with the support of the specialist Obstetric and Fetal Medicine team. 

    Ultrasound providers in CHWC and the community have been trained to carry out cervical length screening and measurement to identify women who are at risk of preterm labour.  Arrangements have been made with the hospital pharmacy to supply the progesterone vaginal pessaries when at risk women are prescribed the medication.  The midwife also plays in key role in promoting smoking cessation, which is an important risk factor in preterm labour.

    Implementation of this initiative will raise awareness of preterm birth and risk factors in the community, thereby promoting health lifestyles both in pregnancy and outside of pregnancy in general.  Babies who are not born preterm will also have better health outcomes.

     
    • Boon Lim: Co-Lead
    • Roberto Orefice: Co-Lead
    • Julia Smythe: Preterm Birth Prevention Midwife
    • The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (ANZJOG)
    Preventing early births in a regional tertiary maternity unit: Evaluating preterm and early term birth rates before and after implementation of the Preterm Birth Prevention Initiative in the Australia Capital Territory

    Download here
     
    • ABC TV: â€‹Canberra's rates of preterm birth plummet due to Whole Nine Months program
      See news bulletin below