Updated Advice for the Care of Pregnant Women

Dear Obstetric Shared Care GPs,

Connecting you with the news you need for GP obstetric shared care. Pregnant? Getting Vaccinated is still recommended. Bringing you the latest news delivered straight to your inbox.

SA Health has now released the COVID-19 Health System and Primary Care Response Strategies outling the system-wide plan for the management and care of COVID-19 positive individuals from next Tuesday 23rd November 2021.

In summary, mainstream GP Practices will continue to deliver routine health care to those individuals who do not have COVID-19, including preventative health care and continuing to administer COVID-19 vaccinations.

SA Health is finalising the plan to assess and measure COVID exposures in both the primary and community-based health care settings and as this comes to hand we will provide further information to you as it relates to the care of your pregnant women and their families.

Stay up to date with the latest information by clicking on the links below and stay safe and with the crazy weather of late, stay warm.

GP Obstetric Shared Care Podcast Series

There has never been a better time to listen to a podcast.

Though the format has been around for a couple of decades now, it’s only in the last few years that they really hit their stride. You might say that we’re living through a golden age of podcasts, if you’re the kind of person who needs all their culture categorised into neat eras!

We have just added a new Podcast!

What it’s about:

SA Pathology and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) are partnering to offer omega-3 testing for women with singleton pregnancies, as part of the South Australian Maternal Serum Antenatal Screening (SAMSAS) program. This will identify women who will benefit from omega-3 supplementation and appropriate advice to reduce their risk of early birth.

GP Partners Australia are enthusiastic to bring this to participants of the GP Obstetric Shared Care Program.

Make it your mission not to miss it!

There has never been a better time to listen to a podcast.

Though the format has been around for a couple of decades now, it’s only in the last few years that they really hit their stride. You might say that we’re living through a golden age of podcasts, if you’re the kind of person who needs all their culture categorised into neat eras!

We have just added a new Podcast!

What it’s about:

SA Pathology and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) are partnering to offer omega-3 testing for women with singleton pregnancies, as part of the South Australian Maternal Serum Antenatal Screening (SAMSAS) program. This will identify women who will benefit from omega-3 supplementation and appropriate advice to reduce their risk of early birth.

GP Partners Australia are enthusiastic to bring this to participants of the GP Obstetric Shared Care Program.

Make it your mission not to miss it!

REDUCING THE RISK OF EARLY PRETERM BIRTH: OMEGA-3 STATUS TEST SCREENING AND TARGETED ADVICE

Host: Leanne March | GP Shared Care Program Manager | GPPA

Guest Speakers: Dr Karen Best and Dr Rhiannon Smith

To access the Podcast: CLICK HERE NOW

complication in Pregnancy – Telomeres Project by University of Adelaide

Approximately 25% of births are the result of pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, pre-term birth, or intrauterine growth restriction.

Offspring born from a pregnancy complication have up to a 6-fold higher risk of chronic diseases in adulthood, including stroke, coronary heart disease, and chronic kidney disease.

However, we do not know which children born from a complicated pregnancy are at increased risk of developing cardio-metabolic diseases.

CAN YOU HELP?

Can you help establish if a need exists for a screening measure in children who were born from a complicated pregnancy?

Can you take part in a 20-minute interview exploring your opinion on blood test as a screening measure in children who were born from a complicated pregnancy?

Your input will help provide the foundation to develop a screening method to identify at-risk children so that suitable interventions in childhood can be implemented to ameliorate future chronic disease risk.

CLICK HERE: FOR DETAILS TO PARTICIPATE

A gift card of $50 will be offered to GPs who participate in this study.

POPPIE Study Update

Thank you to the 50 GPs from GP Partners Australia who are assisting with recruitment to this landmark prenatal trial to identify optimal iodine intake during pregnancy.

So far, we have enrolled over 140 of the 754 women needed in the PoppiE Study and 17 patients from GPPA GPs have completed screening surveys.

We still have a long way to go and would greatly appreciate the involvement of more Obstetric Shared Care GPs.

How can you help?

Express your interest in assisting with recruitment by emailing Leanne March Leanne.March@gpex.com.au.
Display a PoppiE flyer in your waiting room. Posters are available from GP Partners by contacting Leanne.
Identify patients who are less than 13 weeks pregnant and provide them with a PoppiE study brochure.
Encourage your patients to scan the QR code and complete the online survey to find out their average iodine intake and check their eligibility for the study.
Follow up with women at their next appointment.

What are the benefits?

Women will get to know their estimated iodine intake from their diet (so will you).
GPs will be renumerated $100 for women who are eligible for the PoppiE Study.
You will be a part of an important trial that will inform evidence-based practice.

Please complete this form indicating whether you are interested in inviting your pregnant women who are less than 13 weeks into their pregnancy to take part in this research.

CLICK HERE

Syphilis Update

SA Health have issued an alert about the concerning rise of syphilis cases in heterosexual and non-indigenous populations across Adelaide.

The following resources have been included here:

Syphilis Making Decision Tool by ASHM, it provides clear steps to assess and provide clinical care and advice screening, testing and treatment of syphilis. – CLICK HERE
Australian STI Management Guidelines for Use in Primary Care. –CLICK HERE
A report on outcomes with recommendations for prevention and management of future cases. – CLICK HERE

The Child and Family Health Service (CaFHS) provides regular health and development checks for all children aged 0-5 years living in South Australia and we would like to inform you about a recent change to these checks.

CaFHS will now be offering two appointments as part of our initial contact with families following the birth of an infant; at 1-4 weeks of age, following discharge from hospital, and at around 6-8 weeks. The purpose of the second appointment is to offer support with sleep, settling and feeding, and to screen for postnatal depression and domestic and family violence. If it has not already been done by a GP or Paediatrician, the CaFHS nurse will also conduct all parts of the 6-week check as documented in the “My Health and Development Record” (The Blue Book), with the exception of the cardiovascular check. The family will be encouraged to see their medical practitioner to complete a cardiovascular examination.

What this means for GPs

There should be no change in the number of infants seen by GPs for a 6 week medical check. If a family has had the 6-8 week health check conducted by CaFHS, these details will be contained in their Blue Book and doctors will only be required to conduct the cardiovascular examination.

For further details or questions visit www.cafhs.sa.gov.au or email feedback@cafhs.sa.gov.au.