Maternity and newborn services in Whanganui

Whanganui Hospital maternity ward

To contact the Whanganui Hospital maternity ward:

• Phone: 06 348 1234 and dial extension 7295 when prompted.

Waimarino midwifery service

To contact the Waimarino midwifery service:

• Phone: 06 385 5019
• Midwife pager: 026 111 504

Whanganui Hospital maternity ward

• Acute Services Building
• 100 Heads Road
• Whanganui

8am to 8pm, every day.

Waimarino midwifery service

• Waimarino Health Centre
• 22 Seddon Street
• Raetihi

8:30am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday.

We aim to provide high-quality care during your pregnancy, helping to ensure the best outcomes possible.

Learn more about what to do when you think you may be pregnant.

Pregnancy and children (internal link)

You are encouraged to choose and register with your lead maternity carer (LMC) as early as possible in your pregnancy, ideally at 6 to 8 weeks' gestation. LMCs provide care for the majority of Whanganui women during pregnancy, labour and birth, and up to 6 weeks after their baby is born. Care is provided in the women’s own homes, or in clinic facilities.

For help finding an LMC you can visit:

• Healthpoint (external link)
• Find Your Midwife (external link)

Whanganui Hospital maternity ward

The maternity ward has:

• 3 birthing rooms with ensuite facilities
• 11 inpatient beds with ensuite facilities.

The unit is staffed by midwives who provide 24/7 midwifery care.

Midwifery care provided in the unit includes women admitted:

• antenatally
• during labour
• postnatally.

We offer obstetric services for women who require specialist care.

We work in collaboration with other services at Whanganui Hospital including:

• physiotherapists
• dietitians
• diabetes specialist nurses
• paediatricians
• anaesthetists
• social workers
• mental health wellbeing teams
• medical staff, when the mother has a pre-existing medical condition.

We also work with services within South Canterbury including:

• Plunket
• public health nurses
• Women's Refuge
• healthcare providers.

Delivery suite visiting hours

At the discretion of the midwife, partners or support people are welcome to visit anytime while women are in the delivery suite.

Maternity ward visiting hours

A partner or support person (1 at a time only) are encouraged to stay overnight to support new mums. All other visitors are welcome to visit between 8am and 8pm.
The birth of a baby is a special time for everyone concerned, but please understand women can sometimes feel a little overwhelmed by visitors and their good intentions.

We recommend and encourage new mothers to rest. New parents are encouraged to spend time together alone with their babies. Please do not be offended if you are declined access to the ward. This may be at the request of the mother.

Visitors can access the maternity ward by pressing the intercom button at the unit’s entrance. Delays in answering occasionally occur if staff are busy, or when they are in an emergency situation.

Waimarino midwifery service

The Waimarino midwifery service provides 24/7 pregnancy, labour, birth and postnatal care for women living in the Waimarino community.

The service is based at Waimarino Health Centre where the birthing unit is located. A midwife is available Monday to Friday during business hours (except when the midwife is making home visits, or with a birthing woman and her family). The midwife can meet with women in their own homes, or at the health centre.

The Waimarino midwifery Service is supported by a dedicated team of health and allied health practitioners. This includes rural nurses, a social worker, administration staff, mental health and iwi providers.

Any women requiring specialist care are transferred to the maternity unit at Whanganui Hospital.