W h y d i d I c h o o s e

M a t e rn a l & C h i l d H e a l t h N u r s i n g ?

H i , m y n a m e i s R o b y n , a n d I a m a 3 r d y e a r n u r s i n g

s t u d e n t .

W h e n I b e g a n m y n u r s i n g d e g r e e , m y i n t e n t i o n w a s t o fi n i s h t h i s c o u r s e , a n d w o r k t o w a r d s b e c o m i n g a

m i d w i f e .

I h a v e a p a s s i o n f o r c a r i n g f o r w o m e n d u r i n g

p r e g n a n c y a n d c h i l d b i r t h . T h r o u g h t h e j o y , t h e

s t r u g g l e s , a n d a t t i m e s p r o v i d i n g s u p p o r t t h r o u g h

t h e s a d n e s s .

I c o u l d b e a R e g i s t e r e d N u r s e a n d a R e g i s t e r e d M i d w i f e !

T h a t ’ s f a n t a s t i c !

I w o u l d h a v e a m u l t i t u d e o f c a r e e r o p t i o n s . I c o u l d m o v e a r o u n d

d i ff e r e n t a r e a s o f N u r s i n g f o r t h e r e s t o f m y c a r e e r.

But I was curious! With further study,

was there another direction I could take?

With a bit of research, I found the answer was…

Yes!I could be a

Maternal and Child Health Nurse(MCHN)

But what is a Maternal and Child Health Nurse?

With further research I discovered that MCHN’s

• Visit the new mum at home within the first 2 days after baby is home• Do a home safety check• Provide parents with information on SIDS prevention• Check new baby for any health concerns, i.e jaundice, weight loss• Provide new mum with breastfeeding or bottle feeding support• Ensure new mum is healing well after birth• Provide parents with family planning options• Provide sleep and settling information• Parenting information for first time mums or families with a new sibling• Chart the growth, development and learning progress of baby• Child safety as baby becomes a toddler • Provide information on Immunisation, dental, preschool• Overall health and wellbeing of the whole family• Referrals to services as families require

• The list goes on……

This career option appealed to me because…..

I am still providing care and support to new mums. I am still able to provide care to new babies. However, I am now able to provide care and support to the whole family! As a mum myself, I understand the need for support during the transition to motherhood.

My next step was to make a plan. How will I achieve this goal?

How long will it take?

I designed a plan of the steps in which I will take

to achieving this career goal.

This can be found in my 5 year plan.

Can you can see Maternal and Child Health Nursing as your future

career?

Take a look around this webpage. Contact the Universities listed.

Begin your journey.

Its your future!