National Antenatal Care Guidelines
National Evidence-Based Antenatal Care Guidelines are currently being developed by the Australian Government in collaboration with state and territory governments.
The development of the Guidelines is being funded by the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council (AHMAC) and is co-sponsored by the Child Health and Wellbeing Subcommittee (CHWS) of the Australian Population Health Development Principal Committee and the Maternity Services Inter-Jurisdictional Committee (MSIJC) under the Health Policy Priorities Principal Committee.
The National Maternity Services Plan, endorsed by the Australian Health Minister’s Council (AHMC) on 12 November 2010, includes development and endorsement by AHMAC of a full set of National Evidence Based Antenatal Care Guidelines as a priority action under Action 2.1: Ensure Australian maternity services provide high-quality, evidence-based maternity care.
The project is being led by an advisory committee with expertise in antenatal care. A working group has been established to focus specifically on the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women’s antenatal care. Expert input through this group ensures relevance and culturally appropriate recommendations are provided.
The development of the Guidelines is consistent with the processes outlined by the National Health and Medical Research Council which will ensure the Guidelines are evidence based, reflect best practice and are able to secure professional support for implementation.
Purpose
The purpose of the Guidelines is to provide evidence based advice for all health professionals involved in managing the care of healthy pregnant women in the first trimester of pregnancy. While key priorities have been identified that seek to optimise the health and wellbeing of women and children in Australia, there is a focus on meeting the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and their families.Public Consultation
To meet National Health and Medical Research Council requirements the Guidelines have been made available for public consultation for a period of four weeks from Saturday 28 May 2011 until Monday 27 June 2011.All input to the public consultation process will now be considered by the Expert Advisory Committee for the guideline development.
