Our Maternal and Child Health Service is free and confidential for all City of Whittlesea families with children from newborn to school age. Our staff are Registered Nurses, with additional qualifications in Midwifery and Maternal and Child Health. Our service provides ongoing care to improve the health, wellbeing and safety of families and the learning and development of children.
MCH Service Closures 2022
MCH appointments are very important for your baby, parents and carers. Council is making every effort to continue to provide face-to-face appointments and drop-in sessions whilst complying with the Department of Health guidelines and ensuring families and our nurses are COVID safe.
Priorities are given to babies under the 12 months of age and 3½ year old appointments, however we aim to provide appointments at all key age milestones.
Our staff are impacted by COVID just as much as our community, cancelling appointments at short notice will be prevented as much as possible however may occur to keep our families and nurses safe.
If you have any immediate concerns, please contact the Maternal and Child Health 24-hour health line on 13 22 29.
The Maternal and Child Health team is here for you. To make an appointment or to change an existing one, please request an MCH Appointment. If your enquiry relates to an appointment in the next two working days, please call our team on 9404 8888 between 9am-4.30pm, Monday to Friday.
When your baby is born, the hospital will advise our Maternal and Child Health service. A team member will phone you to arrange a date and time for the first appointment, which is usually done at home. Ongoing support is available through our Maternal and Child Health centres.
If you have recently moved to the City of Whittlesea from overseas or elsewhere in Victoria or Australia and have children up to school age, contact the Maternal and Child Health team directly on 9404 8888, Monday to Friday, 8:30am-5pm.
Health and development assessments are performed around the following key ages and stages:
The City of Whittlesea has 20 Maternal and Child Health sites located around the municipality. Please email mch@whittlesea.vic.gov.au or call 9404 8888 for any queries relating to MCH appointments.
These sessions don’t replace your child’s scheduled Key Age and Stage assessments but are suitable for follow-ups and review.
Chat with a Maternal and Child Health Nurse or Lactation Consultant about breastfeeding, or any other issues with feeding your baby.
These sessions offer an opportunity to visit a Maternal and Child Health nurse in between your child’s Key Ages and Stage assessments.
For more information on our drop-in sessions, locations and times, download our brochure here (accessible version available here).
Please note: COVID-19 service changes currently apply. See the above COVID-19 update for the latest news.
We have a range of programs that are facilitated by professionals and aimed to assist parents, including a First Time Parent Group, Sleep & Settling program, and The Infant Program.
Our group is offered over 7 weeks and aims to support you in your new role as a parent. Invitations to join are sent to new parents via SMS.
Benefits include:
First Time Parent Group Series 2 for babies born January, February or March 2022.
Download the brochure here (pdf) and (accessible)
The Infant Program aims to support parents with children aged between 3 and 12 months and has been developed by Deakin University's Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition.
All parents and carers are invited to attend age-specific group information sessions when their children are 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months.
The program will help you:
The Infant Program series 6 – for babies born October 2020 to September 2021
Download the brochure here (PDF) and (accessible)
Book here for series 6
The Infant Program series 7 – for babies born October 2021 to September 2022
Download the brochure here (PDF) (Accessible)
Book here for series 7
This program aims to help parents better understand their child's behaviour, sleep needs and tired signs. Call 9404 8888 to book a telephone consultation.
You will also:
Our Enhanced Maternal and Child Health (EMCH) Service is an outreach program providing additional support to families with children from birth to preschool age who may be experiencing challenges impacting parenting, relationships and well-being.
The EMCH team is a multidisciplinary team made up of Maternal Child Health Nurses, Lactation Consultant & Early Childhood Professional, Adult Mental Health Nurse, Infant Mental Health Nurse and Social Worker.
Our team provides support, listens to and actively works with parents and children around their issues or concerns. We aim to empower and encourage each family to identify and build on their strengths.
Questions to consider:
We can help with:
We also run specialised programs and groups such as:
(These vary depending on community need)
Referrals can be made through your Maternal and Child Health Nurse, via professionals using our referral form here, or by self-referral. Please feel free to call us and discuss, on 8401 6205.
Our Family Engagement Outreach Program participates in community events and seeks opportunities to engage families in the Maternal and Child Health service.
Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagement includes the Deadly Boorais and Deadly Families Program, which actively engages families and their children who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and supports their engagement in the Maternal and Child Health service.
The Maternal and Child Health 24-hour health line on 13 22 29 can give you information and advice about the care and health of your child aged birth to school age.
The Maternal and Child Health app provides reliable information that families can use everyday, and can be downloaded by clicking here.
Tweddle - Sleep and Setting Information
Queen Elizabeth Centre - Early parenting services
O'Connell Family Centre - Early parenting centre
Whittlesea Community Connections - for financial aid, legal aid, family support, settlement services and emergency relief
PANDA - Perinatal depression and anxiety support for parents and families
Orange Door - A free service for adults, children and young people who are experiencing or have experienced family violence, and families who need extra support with the care of children
Raising Children Network - Australian parenting website
Australian Breastfeeding Association - Breastfeeding support and information
Better Health Channel - provides information on a range of topics including sleep and settling
Kidsafe - child accident prevention information
Royal Children's Hospital - kids health information including fact sheets, videos and podcast episodes
Yarra Plenty Regional Libraries - library locations around the City of Whittlesea providing storytime and other events and resources for children
Council is committed to ensuring all residents and ratepayers can access information they need. If you need help viewing any of the content on this page, please phone Customer Service on 9217 2170.