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.
Maternal and Child Health (MCH) appointments are available face to face, or by telephone if preferred.
Current services:
Conditions of entry for face-to-face appointments are:
If you have a phone appointment, your nurse will call you at your appointment time.
For more information, see the City of Whittlesea's COVID-19 FAQs, or to book or change an appointment, please phone us on 9404 8888.
The Maternal and Child Health team is here for you. To make an appointment or to change an existing one, please call our team on 9404 8888 between 8.30am and 5pm, Monday to Friday, or email mch@whittlesea.vic.gov.au
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 21 sites located around the municipality. Visit our Community Directory to find your nearest MCH centre or browse by suburb.
Please note: COVID-19 services changes currently apply. See the above COVID-19 update for the latest news.
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 these sessions, locations and times, download our brochure here (accessible version available here).
Please note: COVID-19 services 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 First Time Parents Groups, Sleep & Settling, and The Infant Program.
Our group is offered over 7 weeks and aims to support you in your new role as a parent.
Benefits include:
The current brochure is available to download here (and accessible version here).
This program aims to help parents better understand their child's behaviour, sleep needs and tired signs.
You will also:
The Infant Program aims to support parents with children aged between 3 and 18 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 12-18 months.
The program will help you:
The current brochure is available to download here (and accessible version here).
Our Enhanced Maternal and Child Health (EMCH) Service is an outreach program providing support to families with children from birth to preschool age who may be experiencing challenges impacting parenting, relationships and well-being.
The City of Whittlesea Enhanced MCH 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.
Looking for more information on our services? Click on the below links to view and download brochures and forms.
Service Brochures
Maternal and Child Health services (PDF) (You can also view these in Arabic, Vietnamese, Farsi, Punjabi, Tamil and Mandarin)
Maternal and Child Health services (Accessible)
Drop-In Services (PDF)
Drop-in Services (Accessible)
First Time Parent Group (PDF)
First Time Parent Group (Accessible)
Infant Program (PDF)
Infant Program (Accessible)
Consent and Referral Forms
Maternal and Child Health consent form
Maternal and Child Health referral form (PDF)
Maternal and Child Health referral form (Accessible)
Maternal and Child Health change of details form (PDF)
Maternal and Child Health change of details form (Accessible)
Enhanced Maternal and Child Health referral form
Help with Online Appointments
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 - Parent info hub
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.