Hospitals deliver maternity milestones

Source: http://phnews.org.au/

24/03/23

Delivering babies is a family affair for Dr Andrew Cary – in every way.

His father Ian spent nearly 20 years as an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Pindara Private Hospital, and now Dr Cary is celebrating his own milestone of 30 years at the Gold Coast facility.

Following in his dad’s footsteps – having been inspired by his stories – he has helped bring more than 7,000 babies into the world, including more than 100 sets of twins.

“From a young age I knew that if I got into medicine I would focus on women’s health and obstetrics,” said Dr Cary, whose father worked at Pindara Private from 1979-98. 

“It started with my father’s musings and discussions about it, and from him telling me some of the real positives of obstetrics as a specialty.” 

While the process of delivering a baby has not changed much in the past three decades, Dr Cary said there had been significant advances in technology and the hospital’s capacity to support patients and their families.

“Our monitoring of women in labour has come a long way. We now have mobile heart monitors so the patient can walk around with them on,” he said. 

“We also now have the ability to log in to the devices from our computers or smart phones and review the heart monitoring in real time, even if we’re not in the actual room, which is fantastic. 

“There were only two birth suites when I started and now there is five. The maternity ward and the neo-natal nursery are a lot larger now.”

Dr Cary paid tribute to the staff at Pindara Private, whose caring approach has been a big feature of his time at the hospital.

“There is a very close-knit feel to the hospital, very tight relationships between nursing staff and doctors and support staff,” he said. 

“All the midwives I’ve known over the years have treated the patients as their very close friends. It’s not just in maternity, clinicians from all specialties echo this.”

The staff at another Ramsay Health Care facility are also celebrating a significant milestone. Greenslopes Private Hospital having delivered more than 10,000 babies since its maternity service started 10 years ago, including 136 sets of twins.

Dr Brad Armstrong welcomed the very first ‘Greenslopes baby’ – Mia, born on 26 February 2013 – and has since brought nearly 2,000 more into the arms of loving parents. 

“I love helping families grow, and I particularly love when families return to have more babies at Greenslopes,” he said. 

”It’s awesome to think there are children as old as 10 now running around who were delivered at Greenslopes and families with up to four kids who have all been delivered at Greenslopes.

“The most rewarding part of the job is helping families navigate what can be a stressful process and also delivering new life into the world, ensuring the mother and baby are safe.”

Dr Armstrong credited the Brisbane hospital’s “wonderful team and working atmosphere”.

“The facilities are second to none. I haven’t worked anywhere else that comes close to the facilities,” he said. 

“Our team of midwives, support staff, paediatricians, anaesthetists and obstetricians are hands down the best maternity team in the country. I would challenge any other public or private maternity service to come even close to what we offer,” he said.