All Medicare-eligible consultations are bulk billed for patients with a valid Medicare card. Some items, including privately purchased vaccines and consumables, attract a fee.
The first few weeks matter more than most people realise, and some of it is time-sensitive. Tap each one.
Four things worth doing first
Dating, early blood tests, screening choices and a referral into the hospital system all have windows. Booking in the first trimester keeps every option open rather than closing some of them by default.
“I've had a positive test and I'd like to book in.”Folic acid reduces the risk of neural tube defects and works in the earliest weeks, often before people book. Iodine matters for your baby's brain development. Both are available over the counter — start today and mention it at your appointment.
“I've started taking folate and iodine.”Some medicines need changing in pregnancy and some absolutely should not be stopped abruptly. Bring everything — prescription, over the counter, herbal. Do not stop anything on your own before you have talked it through.
“Here's everything I'm taking.”John Hunter, Maitland, a private obstetrician, midwifery group practice. Your GP will talk through what is available in the Hunter, what the waits are, and what shared care looks like with each.
“Can we talk through where I could have the baby?”Open any of these for what it involves. Shared care means most routine visits happen here, with hospital appointments at the key points.
First visit
What happens A long appointment covering your health, your history, your medicines, the first round of blood tests, screening options and a referral into the hospital system. Expect it to take a while, because it sets up everything that follows.
Your GP works out your dates, checks your blood group and immunity, orders the first blood tests and explains what screening is available and what each test can and cannot tell you.
It is also the visit where anything in your history that might matter is picked up — previous pregnancies, existing conditions, medicines, family history, and the things that are hard to raise but worth raising.
Antenatal visits
What happens Regular appointments that get closer together as you go on. Blood pressure, urine, your baby's growth, your baby's heartbeat, and how you are actually coping — which is as much a part of it as the measurements.
Under shared care, most of these visits happen here rather than at the hospital, which means less driving and a doctor you already know.
Every visit is a chance to ask something. Nothing is too small, and the questions people apologise for asking are usually the ones worth answering.
Screening
What happens Your GP explains what each test looks for, what a result would and would not tell you, and what it costs — then it is your decision. Screening is offered, never assumed.
The dating scan, first-trimester screening, non-invasive prenatal testing, and the morphology scan at around twenty weeks. Some are bulk billed and some are not, and your GP will be straightforward about which.
Some people want every test available and some want none. Both are reasonable, and your GP's job is to make sure the choice is informed rather than to make it for you.
Worries
What happens Bleeding, pain, reduced movements, severe headache, swelling, or simply a feeling that something is not right. Ring us or the hospital — this is not something to sit on until your next appointment.
Reduced fetal movement is always worth a phone call, at any hour. Ring the birthing unit directly rather than waiting for a GP appointment.
Reduced fetal movement in particular should never wait. If your baby is moving less than usual, ring the hospital birthing unit straight away, at any hour.
Nobody will think you are overreacting. The people who work in this area would far rather see you for nothing than not see you.
Postnatal
What happens A check for you at around six weeks and a check for your baby at the same time — feeding, growth, development, immunisations, and an honest conversation about how you are going.
The six-week check is as much about you as the baby. Mood, sleep, bleeding, pain, contraception, and how the whole thing is actually landing.
Perinatal anxiety and depression are common and treatable, and they are asked about routinely rather than left for you to raise. There is no wrong answer to those questions.
A rough map of what happens when. Every pregnancy differs, so treat this as a shape rather than a schedule. Tap any card.
Preconception care is worth an appointment of its own — folate, immunity, existing conditions, medicines. The best pregnancy care starts before the pregnancy.
Flip backLong, thorough and early. Dates, bloods, screening choices, medicines, and a referral into the hospital system.
Flip backScreening decisions, the dating scan, and getting through the part where you feel worst and look unchanged.
Flip backThe morphology scan, and usually the point where things start to feel real. Whooping cough vaccination is given in the second half of pregnancy.
Flip backRegular visits, growth, blood pressure, and the glucose tolerance test at around 24 to 28 weeks.
Flip backVisits get closer together. Position, movements, blood pressure, and planning for the birth.
Flip backWith the hospital team. Your GP is not there, but your notes are, and your GP sees you again soon afterwards.
Flip backA check for you and a check for the baby at around six weeks, immunisations, feeding support, and an honest conversation about how you are.
Flip backTap whatever applies and print the list. Pregnancy appointments go quickly and people routinely forget the thing they most wanted to ask.
Several of our doctors provide antenatal and postnatal care. Ask reception which of them is taking pregnancy bookings at the moment.
Our GPs hold general registration with AHPRA. Areas listed are special interests within general practice rather than recognised specialist registration. Where your pregnancy needs specialist care, your GP will refer you and stay involved alongside the hospital team.
Pick your situation and what you're coming in for. We'll show you what to expect before you book.
What are you coming in for?
Figures shown are what you pay at the clinic for the appointment itself. Medicines, devices, imaging and specialist fees are set elsewhere. Reception will always confirm the cost with you before anything goes ahead.
Around six to eight weeks, or as soon as you know. Some blood tests and screening options have windows, and a referral into the hospital system takes time, so booking early keeps every option open.
Appointments here are bulk billed on weekdays with a valid Medicare card. Some scans and screening tests carry their own fees set by the provider — your GP will tell you which, and the imaging practice will confirm before you book.
Most of your routine pregnancy appointments happen with your GP, close to home, while the hospital sees you at key milestones and manages the birth. Notes travel both ways. It means less driving and a doctor who already knows you.
Yes, and it is worth it. Book with them by name. If your pregnancy becomes more complex, care shifts towards the hospital and your GP will explain why.
Folic acid and iodine are recommended in pregnancy, and folate matters most in the earliest weeks — often before people book. Both are available over the counter. Bring everything else you take to your first appointment.
Whooping cough and influenza are both recommended in pregnancy and protect your baby in the first months. Your GP will tell you the right timing and can give them here.
Ring. Bleeding, pain, severe headache, vision changes, sudden swelling or reduced movements all warrant contact straight away. Reduced fetal movement should go directly to the hospital birthing unit, at any hour.
A check for you — bleeding, pain, mood, contraception, and how things are going — and a check for your baby, including feeding, growth, development and the first immunisations.
Routinely, both during pregnancy and afterwards. Perinatal anxiety and depression are common and treatable, and asking is standard care rather than a sign anyone is concerned about you specifically.
Yes, and the six-week check is a natural time for it. Some options can start straight away, and what suits changes depending on whether you are breastfeeding.
The first appointment sets up the rest of the pregnancy, and there is no question in this area that anyone here has not been asked before.
Shared antenatal care with the hospital lets most of your pregnancy check-ups happen here, closer to home. After the birth, the six-week check covers both you and your baby.
The clinic is inside Salamander Bay Shopping Centre at Shop 5, 2 Town Centre Circuit, with free parking, and is a short drive from Nelson Bay, Corlette, Soldiers Point, Anna Bay, Shoal Bay, Fingal Bay and Medowie.
Book online with HotDoc at any hour, or call (02) 4008 4400.
From the health journal
