Antenatal Care Project
 |
Georgia Roberts Ph 02 6049 1905 |
RESOURCES
Antenatal Care Brochure March 2009 
Georgia Roberts has returned to the AWRGPN in the Antenatal Care Project – Alcohol and Smoking as the project officer. This project seeks to collate data from GPs within the Network regarding the number and proportion of female patients who indicate they smoke cigarettes and/or drink alcohol during their pregnancy. Smoking and alcohol use during pregnancy creates known risk factors for the unborn child as well as health risks for the mother. Current recommendations indicate women should not smoke or drink alcohol during their pregnancy.
This project recognises that most GPs ask about smoking and alcohol use when providing initial antenatal care. The manner in which this information is recorded may vary between practices, individuals, format (i.e. paper versus electronic files) and between software packages. As a result retrievable data may vary significantly between practices and therefore the method of data collection will be tailored to meet the needs of participating GPs and practices. It is proposed to collect data at the time of the first (or earliest possible) pre or antenatal GP visit and at the time of confinement / delivery.
Similarly, the range of interventions provided to a pregnant woman may vary significantly between GPs. A survey of participating GPs will identify existing strategies used to assist pregnant women reduce or cease their smoking and or alcohol use, while a literature review will identify evidence based interventions appropriate for use with pregnant women. Information and education will be made available to GPs and other health professionals regarding these interventions as well as local referral options for counselling and education to support smoking cessation and alcohol reduction. Resources suitable for the client group will also be identified and made available to GPs, practices, health professionals and clients. To this end the project also aims to collate data on the reasons given by the patient for their reduction or cessation of smoking and or alcohol use during pregnancy.
Expressions of Interest are sought from individual General Practitioners as well as from group Practices willing to be involved with the project. It is hoped that both obstetric and non-obstetric GPs, Victorian and NSW, indigenous and non-indigenous, rural and non rural practices will participate in the project.
For further information please contact Georgia Roberts at the GP Network on 02 60491900.