A collaboration between Royal Women’s Hospital and Grampians Health has provided the Horsham team with new learnings in challenging and sensitive maternity settings.

A team of midwifery clinical educators from The Women’s Maternity Services Education Program guided a full room of midwives through new updates on a variety of complex topics. They included abortion and supporting reproductive health choices, miscarriage and still-birth training as well as substance use in pregnancy and principles of care training.

MSEP is a state-wide clinical education program, delivering interprofessional education for Victorian maternity services. The training at the Horsham campus is another step in the Grampians Health team’s commitment to ensuring its clinicians provide best-practice, compassionate maternity care to women and families who are facing complex circumstances.

Speakers from The Women’s included Sexual and Reproductive Health Clinical Champion Project Manager Cath Hannon, Reproductive Loss Coordinator Sharon Kirsopp, and Kerri Felemonow and Julie Blandthorn, Manager and Clinical Midwife Consultant from The Women’s Alcohol and Drug Service.

Consultant Midwife/MSEP Manager Bree Bulle reflected on the session, noting the program included clinical skills stations which gave participants the opportunity to revise areas of practice necessary to support families accessing maternity care during loss and pregnancy challenges.

“The death of a baby at any time during pregnancy or following birth is a devasting experience and for some people, grief can be a lifelong process,” Ms Bulle said.

“This education is vitally important so clinicians can support women to receive individualised care in a timely manner close to home.”

Grampians Health midwifery clinical educator at Horsham Helen McMaster said she had found the sessions very informative and interesting.

“It was good to hear about actual situations The Women’s team had experienced and what was the correct way and best practice to approach each situation,” Ms McMaster said.

“They had a real empathetic way of working us through these challenging topics and gave the best approach for helping people deal with complex situations.”

Grampians Health Horsham maternity ANUM Leah Askew, front right, with Royal
Women’s Hospital presenters Cath Hannon, Sharon Kirsopp, Bree Bulle and Sophie