09/09/2025
OUR PEOPLE | “At MotherSafe we take calls from the public, mostly women, and healthcare providers. We provide evidence-based information about exposures which may or may not have already occurred, in a pregnancy or during breastfeeding. Very often information that is available out in the community is telling women (and health care providers) that a particular exposure increases pregnancy risk or is not compatible with breastfeeding and very often we can be reassuring.
One of the most unusual calls I have had was when a couple had gone camping and they had caught a puffer fish and eaten it. The gentleman had only eaten the flesh, but there’s much more of the toxin in the skin and the woman had eaten more of that and so she ended up quite unwell and was taken to hospital. That was the first (and only!) time I have needed to look up that particular toxin. More common queries are exposures to medicines like asthma preventors, antihistamines, antibiotics and pain relief.
I wanted to work in health and originally did a physiotherapy degree. I retrained via formal courses and significant teaching and mentoring from our Director Dr Kennedy to work with MotherSafe. Feedback from callers is immediate, in that someone might be crying on the phone and then they’re not and they say they feel reassured. That’s a nice thing to have in your work life,” Delwyn Cupitt, Senior Counsellor, MotherSafe, The Royal Hospital for Women.
💜 MotherSafe is celebrating 25 Years since its establishment this year. 💜 For more information on MotherSafe: https://www.seslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/royal-hospital-for-women/services-clinics/directory/mothersafe
