Pregnancy and Postnatal Care: Living Guidelines

Living Evidence for Australian Pregnancy and Postnatal Care.

“Evidence-based clinical recommendations for everyone who needs or works in pregnancy and postnatal care”. Includes guidelines for clinical assessments related to fetal development and anatomy, fetal chromosomal conditions and social and emotional screening.

Mental Health Care in the Perinatal Period: Australian Clinical Practice Guideline

Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE). (2023).

“This Guideline provides a reliable and standard reference for health professionals providing care to women in the perinatal period. By providing a summary of the currently available evidence on effective approaches to mental health care at this time, it aims to improve a woman’s experience of pregnancy and early parenthood, her emotional well-being, her safety and outcomes for all families.”

A Practical Guide to Palliative Care in Paediatrics

Palliative Care Australia ad Paediatric Palliative Care Australia and New Zealand. (2023).

“This guide addresses the many and varied aspects of caring for dying children and their families. This includes pain and symptom management, practical supports, psychosocial issues, bereavement support, communication and available resources.”

Stillbirth Clinical Care Standard

Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (2022).

Sets the standard expectations regarding screening and diagnosis of congenital anomalies including:

• the use of clear and sensitive language in alignment with the ASUM Parent-centred Communication in Obstetric Ultrasound Guidelines,
• right to accept or decline screening and diagnostic tests or opt-out of particular results,
• verbal and written information should be provided following ultrasounds,
• all women should be offered access to an interpreter,
• if any concerns about the health or welfare of a fetus are identified, women should be referred for further investigation and care and should be provided access to information about how to access relevant support in the interim.

Women and families who experience the death or a baby or are told that their baby will not live long because of a life-limiting condition, should be offered care to support physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual wellbeing (p. 54).

The National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards 

Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care.

“The primary aims of the NSQHS Standards are to protect the public from harm and to improve the quality of health service provision. The eight NSQHS Standards provide a nationally consistent statement about the level of care consumers can expect from health services.”

The NSQHS Standards represent the level of care consumers can expect from health service organisations. Specifically, we note:

• Health services should work in partnership with consumers,
• Systems should be in place to deliver comprehensive care that meets the individual needs of consumers, this includes mental health and wellbeing support.
• Systems should be in place to minimise harm,
• Health services processes should support effective communication with consumers that activity involves them in their care, meets their information needs and involves shared-decision making.