BASS Coast Health (BCH) has appointed Relle McMillin to lead the hospital’s maternity team underscoring its commitment mothers and families using the service.
Ms McMillin is BCH’s new Midwifery Unit Manager, overseeing a team of midwives and administration staff who deliver high quality maternity services to the communities of Bass Coast and South Gippsland shires.
She is also a qualified doula – a trained professional who acts as a companion to a woman and their family, understanding their emotional and physical needs during pregnancy, birth and beyond.
“Having this qualification and experience enables me to go beyond the exceptional medical care we provide to women and their families to ensure they are emotionally prepared and supported during this exciting, yet transformative time of their lives,” Ms McMillin said.
Dr Carmen Brown, Clinical Director of Women’s Services at BCH, said Ms McMillin’s doula experiences reflect that BCH is “committed to natural and family-centred birthing”.
“The minute you make care centred on what is best for the patient, it’s of great benefit to everyone involved,” Dr Brown said.
Ms McMillin comes to BCH with experience as Midwifery Unit Manager at Eastern Health’s Box Hill Hospital and Associate Midwifery Unit Manager at the Royal Women’s Hospital site at Sandringham.
As a registered midwife, Ms McMillin has a primary health, wellness focus.
“Midwifery is more about embracing and empowering families as they have their babies and to give them the ability to be confident parents overseeing confident families,” she said.
Ms McMillin was attracted to BCH due to her desire to focus on less complex births and to be a part of BCH’s exciting future as the health service expands.
“We’re also working towards growing the maternity unit to increase the options for women and the way care is provided,” she said.
Ms McMillin’s title of Midwifery Unit Manager is coincidentally shortened to ‘MUM’ in the healthcare field. She is also a mother to three teenage sons.
