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The Safer Baby Bundle is a collection of change ideas or interventions designed to reduce late pregnancy stillbirth. The interventions are based on evidence summaries developed in partnership with the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand (PSANZ).  

The five components of the Safer Baby Bundle are:  

• Supporting women to stop smoking in pregnancy  

• Improving detection and management of fetal growth restriction  

• Raising awareness and improving care for women with decreased fetal movements  

• Improving awareness of maternal safe going-to-sleep position in late pregnancy  

• Improving decision-making about the timing of birth for women with risk factors for stillbirth 

There is a Handbook and Resource Guide, resources for women and free accredited CPD eLearning modules (eligible for 4 ANSC CPD points). 

Reproductive carrier screening is used to identify carriers of genetic conditions with an autosomal recessive inheritance or x-linked inheritance pattern. Information about carrier screening should be offered to all women or couples during pre-conception and early in the pregnancy (i.e. first trimester).  

• All women or couples planning a pregnancy, or who are already pregnant, should have a comprehensive family history recorded. 

• Women or couples who are known carriers of a genetic condition or have a relevant family history should be made aware of the availability of carrier screening and offered referral to specialist services (i.e. genetics or obstetrics). 

• Information on carrier screening for the more common genetic conditions that affect children (e.g. cystic fibrosis [CF], spinal muscular atrophy [SMA], fragile X syndrome [FXS]) should be offered to low-risk women and couples (i.e. regardless of family history and ethnicity). 

• The decision to have screening is a personal choice to be made by the individual or couple².  

Information on reproductive carrier screening should include the potential benefits of screening, limitations, and associated costs¹. Couples who are considering reproductive carrier screening should be aware that not all tests look for the same genetic conditions and screening does not screen for every genetic condition³. Women wanting more information about carrier screening should be given the opportunity to have a more detailed discussion about carrier screening with an informed clinician¹. 

GPs requiring further information regarding reproductive carrier screening and available pathology service providers, please contact relevant hospital Clinical Genetics Department below:  

• RPAH Medical Genomics/Clinical Genetics: ph. 9515 5080  

• RHW: ph. 9382 6098  

• St George Hospital: Clinical Genetics ph. 9113 3635  

References and resources  

¹.RANZCOG Statement - Genetic carrier screening (March 2019) 
².RACGP - Genomics in General Practice (2018) ( p76) or Reproductive carrier screening  
³.NSW Health Centre for Genetics Education - Preconception (Reproductive) carrier screening (Fact Sheet )  

Healthpathways Sydney – “ genetic carrier screening” is included in following pathways 
- Preconception assessment  
- Antenatal – First consult  

Healthpathways SE Sydney – “ screening for fetal anomalies” is included in the following pathways  
- Antenatal – First consult  
- Screening for fetal anomalies

Society of Obstetric Medicine of Australia & New Zealand (SOMANZ) has recently released new guidelines for the management of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy and hyperemesis gravidarum  

Click here to view the full version of guidelines or Click here for executive summary. The guidelines also include Patient Information Leaflet : Sickness and vomiting in pregnancy  (p62-65) and template for an individual Patient Management plan : Sickness in pregnancy plan (p66-67).  

The NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service has recently published the following resources online: 

• When to come to hospital in labour (available in Bengali, Arabic, English, Chinese traditional, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Nepalese, Chinese simplified)  

• What to bring to hospital when having a baby (available in English, Bengali, Mongolian, Nepalese, Portuguese) 

• Contraception after you have had a baby (available in English, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese simplified, Chinese traditional, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Nepalese, Mongolian, Portuguese, Thai and Vietnamese) 

As each hospital GP ANSC program has its own specific protocol and guidelines, GPs wishing to participate in more than one program need to register for each program by completing the relevant hospital Application Form and attend an Orientation Session (recommended). GPs may be granted X- recognition based on GP ANSC experience and fulfilment of educational requirements. Application Forms can be downloaded from CESPHN website under relevant hospital.

NSW Health is evaluating the way it gives information to women about their pregnancy and care of their baby, specifically through these resources: 

• Having a Baby 

• Breastfeeding your Baby 

• Strong Women Strong Babies Pregnancy Diary 

Click here for the health professional survey. 

Click here for more information about the review.