Planned ASMS senior doctors' strike — Thursday 1 May, 24 hours
Patient safety is our priority. Our hospitals and emergency departments will remain open. Continue to attend all appointments on the day of the strike unless we have contacted you to reschedule.
Maternity and newborn services aims to provide high quality care to all women in the Whanganui region during pregnancy, helping ensure the best outcomes possible.
To contact the Whanganui Hospital maternity ward:
To contact the Waimarino midwifery service:
8am to 8pm, every day.
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:
The maternity ward has:
If you are considering giving birth at the Whanganui Hospital Maternity Ward, you may want to take a look around. Start with our guided virtual tour, with audio describing the different rooms and spaces.
Whanganui maternity ward virtual tour (external link)
The unit is staffed by midwives who provide 24/7 midwifery care.
Midwifery care provided in the unit includes women admitted:
We offer obstetric services for women who require specialist care.
We work in collaboration with other services at Whanganui Hospital including:
We also work with services within Whanganui including:
At the discretion of the midwife, partners or support people are welcome to visit anytime while women are in the delivery suite.
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.
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.