Maternal & Child Health Service - Client Handbook

The MCH Nurse will contact you when you are discharged from hospital. You will receive information regarding our services, your nearest MCH centre and your first appointments will be made.

The service includes an initial home visit and 9 consultations at key stages for your child.

The ‘green book’ you received from the hospital is full of information about early childhood development, services and supports that are available to help you build a strong foundation for your child’s future. It is designed to keep your child’s health, learning and development records in one place. It is important to bring it to all of your MCH visits.

If you are new to Yarra and have children aged between birth and four years, please contact us to arrange an appointment.

For further support parents can contact the statewide 24-hour Maternal and Child Health Line on 13 22 29.

MCH Booking Enquires

T: 0392055599
E: [email protected]

Our MCH nurses are here to help you, and often collaborate with a range of other health professionals to provide you with the best support.

All MCH centres are staffed by MCH nurses who are registered nurses and midwives, with postgraduate qualifications in Child, Family and Community Health.

Often you will see the same nurse at each appointment, however this may not always be possible due to staff leave or unforeseen circumstances. We appreciate your understanding when this occurs.

Key ages and stages

The MCH service offers 10 free key ages and stages consultations. At each of these appointments you can discuss any concerns, talk out your parenting experiences and discover ways to improve your child’s health, growth and development.

For further support you can call the 24-hour MCH phone line on 13 22 29 or download the MCH app.

To book, change or cancel an appointment, contact us:

T: 0392055599
E: [email protected]

For detailed information about each of the key age and stage visits,
please refer to Better Health Channel

We run groups for all first-time parents. Led by a qualified MCH nurse, these groups are a great opportunity for families to access information on parenting and allow new parents to meet other families in their local community.

How to join a first-time parent group

Your MCH nurse will invite you to join the first-time parent group at one of your early key age and stage appointments.

If you have any further questions, you can ask the nurse at your appointments or call the MCH bookings phone line.

On completion of the first-time parent group, parents are supported to continue meeting as a baby playgroup.

Playgroups meet weekly at various locations across Yarra, including in parks, libraries and community centres. A typical playgroup session is two hours long.

For more information about Playgroups in Yarra, please visit Playgroups page or email [email protected].

For families that need extra support, the Enhanced Maternal and Child Health service (EMCH) is available.

Our Enhanced MCH nurses at Yarra have experience working with families who may be facing complex challenges during the early years of parenting.

This is a referral only service. Your MCH nurse or any member of our family services team will be able to assist you in accessing this service.

The Enhanced MCH nurse will discuss with you the support and assistance we can provide to your child, yourself and your family.

Often this will include:

• Undertaking the key age and stage assessments for your child
• Completing or arranging health or wellbeing assessments for you or your child
• Offering parenting support
• Linking into other services, programs or supports in our community

Childhood immunisations

The National Immunisation Program recommends that children are vaccinated at the following ages:

• Birth
• 6 weeks
• 4 months
• 6 months
• 12 months
• 18 months
• 4 years

It is important to vaccinate your child on time, so check our schedule and plan a session ahead of time.

Childhood vaccine catch-up

We can provide a free vaccine catch-up program for:

• Children up to 19 years who may have missed childhood vaccinations.
• Adolescents up to 25 who may have missed their HPV vaccine. We can also provide a catch-up plan for vaccines given overseas and transfer your overseas records to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).

Keeping records

You will need to provide records of your child’s immunisations for childcare, preschool and for school enrolment.

Parents can request a copy of their child’s Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) history statement at any time (before their children turn 14 years of age) by:

• Using their Medicare online account through myGov
• Using the Medicare Express Plus App
• Calling the AIR general enquiries line on 1800 653 809

At each vaccination, take your child’s My Health and Development Record (the green book), so that the nurse can record your child’s visit. These records are an important reminder of when your child’s next immunisations are due and which children in the family are immunised.

If a side effect following immunisation is unexpected, persistent or severe or if you are worried about yourself or your child’s condition after a vaccination, see your doctor, go directly to a hospital or call the 24-hour MCH line on 13 22 29.

For further information, including the Yarra Immunisation Timetable, visit the Immunisation page or call 9205 5555.

We offer a range of parenting sessions for families, including First Aid for New Parents.

These sessions provide helpful information and practical tools for a range of parenting matters.

Sessions are held in various locations across Yarra throughout the year.

For further information, including upcoming parenting sessions, please see our webpage Parenting information and support services

We follow all relevant legislation to ensure that your information is kept securely, protecting your privacy.

Our staff keep electronic files with any relevant paperwork from the course of their work with your family, this information is recorded on a secure system.

Our staff will not share or exchange information regarding your family with anyone else without your consent. The only exception to
this is when we might be concerned about the safety of you or someone else.

Feel free to speak with our staff at any time if you have any questions regarding the information we keep about your family.

If, at any time, you wish to access your file, please contact us on 9205 5555.