Central Otago Midwives

10/05/2026

Late post on the day… but feeling very lucky to just come home from a day’s work to a lovely warm house with flowers. Wishing my awesome clients present and past a wonderful Mother’s Day. Especially to the one mother currently admitted to hospital antenatal ward (your awesome), to the two clients this week who became mum for a second time (48 hrs) and MOST specially to the ones for whom this day is incredibly hard, confronting and who have their beautiful baby in their heart, I’m thinking of you big time today ❤️ Love to you all. Charlotte

30/04/2026

Inquiries made on this new wonderful development; the cost of the scan would be 40 nzd (at current, future increases possible). If you can present a community service card on the appointment price is less. Reporting is through Dunedin Hospital and reporting on the ultrasound images within a week.

We’re advocating for better access to health services... this is just the beginning. Dunstan Hospital Radiology has increased capacity and reduced wait times, making it easier for our community to access timely, high‑quality imaging close to home. With expanded staffing, we’re now offering greater appointment availability — including maternity ultrasounds and publicly funded imaging through established health pathways.
👉 Read more here: https://www.dunstanhospital.org.nz/news/more-capacity-shorter-waits-local-maternity-ultrasound-at-dunstan-hospital

29/04/2026

👶 Do you have a baby under 12 months?
Join Pēpi Me Te Mātua - Baby & You in Cromwell 👶

A warm and welcoming space for whānau with young pēpi. Together, we’ll explore practical and supportive topics while building connections with other parents and caregivers. Different topics and speakers each week with helpful information.

🗓 When: Fridays, starting 8th May
⏰ Time: 10:00am – 12:00pm
📍 Where: Cromwell Scout Hall, 31 Ortive Street
💰 Cost: $10 per whānau for the full 6‑week programme

🌟Email jessica@coreap.org.nz to book your spot 🌟

29/04/2026

Maternal Mental Health Week is coming up next week 💛

Pregnancy, the postnatal period, and the years of raising children can be incredibly rewarding—but also challenging, exhausting, and at times overwhelming. Many mothers experience anxiety, low mood, stress, or feel like they’re not coping as well as they “should”.

The reality is: you’re not alone, and support is available.

At Alexandra Family Medical, we see how common this is, and how much difference early support can make—for both you and your family.

If you are:

Feeling low, anxious, or overwhelmed
Struggling with sleep or constant worry
Finding it hard to enjoy things or feeling disconnected
Just not feeling like yourself

Please reach out. A simple conversation is a good first step.

We can support you with:

A listening ear and practical advice
Access to our Health Improvement Practitioner (free support sessions)
Ongoing care with your own GP if needed

You don’t have to manage this on your own.

📞 Call us or book online via the patient portal if you’d like to talk.

16/04/2026

I have been thoroughly enjoying doing first trimester Point Of Care Ultrasounds; giving women confirmation of viable pregnancy, pregnancy location, emotional reassurance, or supporting through early pregnancy loss.

The learning is steep and definitely ongoing. A student phase I enjoy being in very much! I'm so grateful for my supervisor's help and her commitment and the support of the Dunstan specialists and nurses making space and offering help as well.

If you wish to have a first trimester ultrasound feel free to ring (027 6399005) and we can discuss the indication and timing. At current under ongoing ASUM approved supervision. No referral required, but of course always welcome from GP or midwife. No costs. No booking under my midwifery care required.

08/04/2026

So very happy to share this post for Soul Fitness Alexandra postnatal exercise program. Something that was really needed for a long time! Have fun getting together, build back you strength and enjoy the endorphins and energy the exercise gives you in return too!

We’re so excited to offer our first ever ”𝑴𝒖𝒎𝒔 & 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔” sessions, starting Wednesday 6th May!

Welcoming mothers in the early stages of their postpartum journey, this 5 week block will focus on restoring strength, mobility and confidence, through a blend of breathwork, stretching, pelvic floor engagement and strength training.

These postnatal foundation classes have been carefully curated alongside a certified postpartum trainer, with each session progressively building in intensity, placing a strong emphasis on mind-body connection.

No pressure, no judgement - just a supportive space to move your body, rebuild confidence and connect with other mums, with the option of bringing your baby along too 🤍

𝑭𝑹𝑬𝑬 for current Soul Fitness members
Non members - $75.00 for 5 sessions
Limited to the first 10 people

*For safety and flow of the class, these sessions are best suited to non-mobile (pre-crawling) babies, or babies who are happy to remain settled in a stroller.

🗓️ Wednesdays | 10.15am
📍 Soul Studio

𝙎𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩:
𝙈𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙨: Head to the GymMaster app and select “Membership” ➡️ “Mums & Minis”

𝙉𝙤𝙣 𝙈𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙨: Visit our website ➡️ select “Sign Up” ➡️ “Mums & Minis”

08/04/2026

RANZCOG and New Zealand College of Midwives welcome the commitment from Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora and the Hon. Simeon Brown, Minister of Health, to deliver long-term solutions for maternity ultrasound funding. We also acknowledge the introduction of interim measures to ease the burden of unaffordable co-payments while urgent work on developing sustainable funding models continues.

Late last year, when a significant rise in maternity ultrasound co-payments was anticipated, NZCOM and RANZCOG wrote to the Minister seeking immediate action - calling for both short-term relief and a comprehensive review of funding.

Today’s announcement confirms new arrangements with private, community-based providers - who deliver most maternity ultrasound scans - to cap co-payments at $30 for those with a Community Services Card and $90 for others. This is a reduction from the previously proposed increases of $75 and $150.

For many years, RANZCOG and NZCOM have raised concerns about outdated funding and rising co-payments, warning that cost barriers will prevent families from accessing clinically necessary scans - potentially putting mothers and babies at risk of avoidable harm.

Read more on the College’s website: https://ranzcog.edu.au/news/maternity-ultrasound-funding/

05/03/2026

Today I came back from a few days at Otago University doing the Midwife-led Rural Basic Early Pregnancy Ultrasound course after gaining my certificate in ‘Physics in Ultrasound’. So grateful to have been allowed to do this course and so far I have been absolutely loving every part of it!
Now the next step is to go into a period of doing ‘basic early pregnancy ultrasounds’ UNDER SUPERVISION and for this I welcome anyone in the first trimester that would like to help me in my learning. (Ph 0276399005)
I’m looking very much forward to bringing this new skill into practice and extending my scope. The result ll be to have the ability to do ‘point of care ultrasounds’. What does this mean?
- POCU scans are bedside
- in midwifery setting they are only on indication based e.g. spotting, abdominal pain with positive pregnancy hormones (hCG)
- they are to indicate an intra uterine pregnancy viable/ non viable and exclude ectopic. If suspicious of abnormality each scan would be followed up by a formal ultrasound through the ultrasound services.

The scope is limited, but I’m able to make a difference as
- better client experience; easy to access ALL days of the week (even holidays), providing reassurance, reducing travel and cost (no cost for the scan). POCUS can decrease the time of initial concern to diagnosis from days to hours.
- enhancing and streamlining patient care, improving efficiency, and reducing ED visits

So, yes… I’m absolutely thrilled and look forward to work through the next stage which is a period of scanning under supervision.

😉 Charlotte

28/02/2026

Plunket Pregnancy and Parenting Courses in Central Otago

Cromwell & Alexandra courses: https://plunketppe.org.nz/courses/southern/central-otago

Virtual x6 Tuesday evenings, 2nd June - 7th July 2026: https://plunketppe.org.nz/courses/virtual-online-course-southern

03/02/2026

Yes Soul Fitness Alexandra so good! 😊

Calling all postpartum Mothers 🤍

We’re looking at introducing some mid-morning Mums & Minis sessions.

These sessions will be designed for Mothers who want to move, build strength, and feel good — all while being able to bring your baby along too.

No pressure, no judgement and suitable for all fitness levels. It’s a chance to get moving and connect with other mums in a supportive space.

If this sounds like something you’d be into, let us know!

07/01/2026

We encourage booking into a course as soon as your pregnancy has been confirmed as our courses are popular and book up fast. This course has been specially designed to start around your 25th week of pregnancy. Any questions please contact us on ppe@plunket.org.nz or 0800 291 658.