Weekly Health Insights: Focus on Maternal and Newborn Health
Co-inciding with World Health Day this weeks, we write about Maternal and Newborn Health.
World Health Day is celebrated each year on 7 April. It serves as a global reminder of the importance of universal health coverage and equal access to healthcare services. In 2025, the campaign theme is “Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures”, focusing on improving maternal and newborn health and urging health professionals and governments to prioritise care that ensures the safety, dignity, and well-being of mothers and their babies.
Maternal and Neonatal Health: The Global and Local Context
Maternal and neonatal morbidity remains a pressing global concern:
- Over 800 women die every day due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth, most of which are preventable (WHO).
- Nearly 2.4 million newborns die each year within the first month of life.
- In Australia, approximately 6 in every 1,000 births result in neonatal complications requiring intensive care.
- Postpartum depression affects about 1 in 7 Australian women.
Improving maternal and newborn outcomes is crucial to creating healthier families and communities.
At Ocean Medical – Bondi’s Local Medical Centre and GP health care centre, our female GPs on Bondi Road are passionate about delivering quality pregnancy and postnatal care to our community. Our experienced Bondi doctors are dedicated to helping women and families navigate every step of the journey—from conception through to postpartum recovery.
Supporting Healthy Pregnancies and Births
Our Bondi GPs recommend the following strategies for healthy pregnancies and safer births:
- Regular Antenatal Visits: Essential to detect complications such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, placenta previa or infections. Our local Bondi GPs can outline the expectations during pregnancy and expected visits. Our Bondi doctors can refer you to a local obstetrician or provide antenatal shared care options with your local hospital.
- Balanced Nutrition: Ensure a balanced diet of folic acid, iron, calcium, iodine, and protein support foetal development and maternal health.
- Pelvic Floor Exercises: Help prepare for labour and promote better recovery postpartum. See our local Bondi physiotherapist Campbell to help improve your core strength and pelvic muscle strength before and after pregnancy.
- Mental Health Monitoring: Early identification of stress, anxiety, or mood changes during pregnancy. Our psychologist Michelle Fox or team of Crown St Medical Centre psychologists may be able to assist you.
- Sleep, hydration, and physical activity: Crucial elements of pregnancy wellness.
Promoting Postnatal Health
Healthy postnatal care includes:
- Six-week postnatal checks for mother and baby.
- Breastfeeding support, including lactation advice.
- Mental health screenings for postnatal depression.
- Pelvic and sexual health assessments.
Our local medical centre on Bondi Road offers continuity of care from pregnancy through to motherhood.
Antenatal Blood Tests and Imaging in New South Wales
Expecting mothers in NSW are offered a comprehensive range of antenatal tests and scans:
- Routine Blood Tests: Including blood group and antibodies, iron levels, rubella immunity, syphilis, hepatitis B and C, HIV, and thyroid function.
- NIPT (Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing): Screens for chromosomal conditions like Down syndrome.
- Ultrasounds:
- Dating scan (around 8 weeks)
- Nuchal translucency scan (11–14 weeks)
- Morphology scan (18–20 weeks)
- Third trimester scans, if clinically indicated
Our Bondi GPs can coordinate all tests and ensure mothers understand their results and next steps.
Vaccines to Protect Mothers and Newborns
Vaccination during pregnancy plays a vital role in protecting maternal and neonatal health:
- Influenza vaccine: Safe in all trimesters, reduces risks of severe flu in mothers and infants.
- Whooping cough (dTpa) vaccine: Administered between 20–32 weeks of pregnancy.
- COVID-19 vaccine: Strongly recommended to prevent severe illness in pregnancy.
- RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) vaccine: A new addition recommended for pregnant women to prevent serious RSV infections in newborns during their first months of life. For more information, please visit NSW Health.
These vaccinations are available through our Bondi GP medical centre as part of routine antenatal care.
Preventing Illness During Pregnancy in Bondi
To reduce the risk of disease and complications during pregnancy, we advise:
- Practising good hygiene (especially around young children)
- In addition to avoiding raw or undercooked meat and seafood, take your Prenatal vitamins with folic acid and iodine
- Limiting caffeine and avoiding alcohol and tobacco
- Staying up-to-date with vaccines
- Exercising safely with prenatal yoga or walking along Bondi’s beautiful coastline
- Regular exercise such as swimming, walking, or prenatal pilates. Whilst ensuring adequate rest and hydration
- Avoiding unnecessary medications
- Attending childbirth and parenting education sessions
Mental health support is just as important—our female doctors at Ocean Medical Practice can provide referrals to psychologists, social workers, or group support services.
At Ocean Medical Practice, we are proud to support the maternal health needs of our local community:
- Experienced female GPs in Bondi with a focus on women’s health
- Continuity of care across pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood
- Timely access to blood tests, ultrasounds, and vaccines
- Support for breastfeeding, mental health, and physical recovery
We collaborate with local obstetricians, hospitals, and specialists to ensure every woman receives the best care possible.
Book your antenatal or postnatal check-up today at Ocean Medical Practice.
Our trusted doctors on Bondi Road offer compassionate and evidence-based care for mothers, babies, and growing families. Visit our Medical Centre on Bondi Road or contact us to speak with a knowledgeable Bondi GP. Let’s work together for healthy beginnings and hopeful futures.
