Whitehorse News - February 2023

Anyone who has raised young children knows just how important Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Nurses are when it comes to the health and wellbeing of their youngsters.

At Whitehorse, we are lucky to have a fantastic team of MCH Nurses who form part of our Health and Family Services unit. 

Carla Dalton has been a MCH Nurse for Council for ten years. Having worked as a Registered Nurse, Community Nurse and then a Midwife, Carla said it felt like the logical next step in her career, and she’s enjoyed it ever since.

“My role as a MCH Nurse is to provide care and support to families in Whitehorse, including those taking care of a new baby for the first time, offering advice to parents of pre-school aged children and connecting families to others in the area,” said Carla.

In a typical day, Carla has appointments with young families at Council clinics and home visits for those with newborns. Her and the MCH team conduct referrals for speech and developmental delay, paediatric reviews and mental health. They also help new parents connect with others in their area by organising parent group meetings.

In her years of experience, Carla said the most common misconceptions among new families were that babies sleep more than they do, and that breastfeeding is easy.

“These are two challenging aspects of having a new baby and we are here to help support families through any struggles they may have.”

In the midst of the pandemic, the MCH team were incredibly resilient, finding ways to keep parents connected and support families through the lockdowns.

“Many parents were very stressed, isolated and scared having a new baby at home with less support than usual,” Carla explained.

“MCH Nurses tried their very best to find new ways to make contact with families via video calls, telehealth and online groups. We continued to see new babies during this time face to face.”

The nurses are working hard to bring service levels above and beyond what they were before.

For any new parents, Carla has two key pieces of advice:

“There is no such thing as a silly question or a perfect parent. We are here to help you, not judge!”

"My favourite part of the job is meeting all of the lovely families in Whitehorse and being part of this special time in their lives,” said Carla.