Department of Health

Each year, over 75,000 women give birth in Victorian hospitals. Three-quarters of these births are in the public system. Special care nurseries and neonatal intensive care support 10,000 babies each who year need extra support and care.

The public maternity service system in Victoria includes metropolitan, regional and rural hospitals, as well as emergency retrieval and referral services.

A number of private hospitals provide maternity and special care nursery services for low- to moderate-complexity cases.

As well as providing less complex care for mothers and babies close to women’s homes, the public system also includes a small number of hospitals (known as tertiary hospitals) that provide specialist statewide services for women with complex or high-risk pregnancies and newborns that require intensive care.

Maternity and newborn services user guide

This guide, prepared by Safer Care Victoria and the department, provides Victorian maternity and newborn services with service specific tools and resources to strengthen clinical governance and quality and safety processes. Read the guideExternal Link .

Reviewed 21 February 2023

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Maternity and Newborn Program

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