Obstetrics/Maternity Care
At Craignish Specialist Centre, Dr McCallum works with his practice midwives who also see pregnant women at their antenatal appointments to ensure that all aspects of care are covered and all relevant questions are answered.
Dr McCallum manages all aspects of normal and complicated obstetric care including:
- natural vaginal delivery
- twin pregnancy with vaginal delivery
- vaginal birth after Caesarean section (VBAC)
- elective Caesarean section
- tummy tuck with Caesarean section (sometimes called “mummy tuck”)
Private Maternity Care
Dr McCallum provides pregnancy care including antenatal visits at Craignish Specialist Centre for women wishing to deliver their babies at Knox Private Hospital and Mitcham Private Hospital where he attends the delivery whether it is straight forward or complicated such as a Caesarean section or an instrumental vaginal delivery.
Public Maternity Care
Dr McCallum also provides antenatal care for un-insured women intending to deliver at the two Eastern Health Maternity Units located at Angliss Hospital and Box Hill Hospital.
Antenatal Maternity Appointments
The first antenatal appointment is usually scheduled at 10 weeks of pregnancy to enable Dr McCallum to discuss your past history and your plans and aspirations for the pregnancy. Subsequent antenatal appointments for normal pregnancies are scheduled every 4 weeks until 26 weeks of pregnancy, then fortnightly until 36 weeks, then weekly until delivery. There is a CTG (cardio-tachograph) machine on site for monitoring the fetal heart in high risk pregnancies, or to check the baby’s well-being for various reasons including decreased fetal movements. This capability reduces the need for extra visits to the hospital for CTG etc.
Postnatal Appointments
Postnatal appointments are scheduled for 6 to 9 weeks after delivery. At this appointment Dr McCallum will discuss your birth experience, plans for future pregnancy and contraception and do a baby check if your baby is not under the care of a paediatrician.