Pregnancy and COVID-19

As the current rates of COVID in the community continue to surge, we would like to provide some specific advice to pregnant women about how to prevent COVID and what to do if you do test positive. Pregnant women are at increased risk of developing severe disease with COVID.

Vaccination is the most effective form of prevention and is strongly recommended for all pregnant women. Vaccination is safe for you and your baby and helps to prevent the severe complications of COVID in pregnant women such as premature birth, stillbirth and very severe illness in the mother which might require admission to ICU.
 

Vaccination is now available in the Joan Kirner building. If you have not yet been vaccinated, or if your last vaccine was more than 3 months ago, please discuss this with your midwife or doctor to ensure that both you and your baby are fully protected.
 

We also recommend that you take all the public health measures such as;

• wearing a mask
• social distancing
• Avoiding large crowds to help reduce your chances of catching COVID.

For further information please check:

https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/checklist-contacts

There are different types of contact which have different requirements for testing and isolation. If you are required to isolate, you will not be able to attend your appointments during this time.   

Please contact 8345 1727 to reschedule your appointment.

If you receive a positive result at any time during your pregnancy (either on a rapid antigen test RAT or a PCR test), please register your result using this link.

It is important that you let us know about your diagnosis as soon as possible so that we can provide additional support and care for you and your baby in case you need it. 

We will provide you with some specific information to help you manage your symptoms and assess whether you might need some additional treatments to prevent you from becoming very sick. 

DO NOT attend any planned appointments whilst you are infectious unless instructed to do so. 

For most vaccinated pregnant women, COVID tends to be a mild illness - like a bad cold. It might be a good idea to think about getting some of the following items to have available in the house just in case you do get COVID. 

• Paracetamol (Panadol) – this is safe to take every 4-6 hours if needed during pregnancy (DO NOT take Ibuprofen/Nurofen – this is not recommended in pregnancy)
• A thermometer to measure your temperature
   
• An oxygen saturation monitor – these can be purchased from the pharmacy and help to monitor your oxygen levels.
• Throat lozenges or honey and lemon – these can help to soothe a sore throat.