Projects

Women who use illicit substances during pregnancy constitute a special group of mothers with complex social, psychological, medical and obstetric needs. Perinatal care of these mothers and their fetus or newborn infant requires highly specialised knowledge. For health professionals working in locations other than tertiary level facilities, accessing this knowledge is difficult, and even if professional research journals are available, constraints such as time to assess the available evidence and then translate often complex information into practice frequently exist.

Recognising this need, the Australian Government approved a grant for the development of evidence based resources for rural and remote practitioners that would provide current and practical guidance on the care of women who have a chemical dependency and their infants. Evidence based algorithms and guidelines developed by the Western Australian Centre for Evidence Based Nursing and Midwifery as part of this project are available to health professionals on the project website. Topics covered include antenatal care for the substance using mother, care of infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome and breastfeeding-related issues.

For feedback and enquiries about this project please contact:

Alison Clark
Telephone: +61 8 9266 2068
Facsimile: +61 8 9266 2959

Email enquiries to: alison.clark@curtin.edu.au