Coming to hospital

All rooms at Mater Mothers’ Hospital include an ensuite as well as personal baby bathing facilities. The majority of our rooms are twin-share.

Rooming-in

Mater Mothers’ Hospital practices rooming-in. This allows mothers and babies to remain together 24 hours a day. Rooming-in helps mothers bond with their babies and gain confidence in their care. Research shows that mothers actually get more sleep when rooming-in with their baby.

A mother who is rooming-in is able to attend to her baby when feeding cues are displayed, helping her establish a good milk flow by promoting milk let-down. This means you are less likely to have hard sore breasts, your milk supply will become established, and breastfeeding will get off to a good start. You also make antibodies from your own body and environment that you pass on to your baby through your breast milk. This means your baby is less at risk of infection in the first few days when they are in close contact with you.

MyMater Bedside 

You can enjoy a range of entertainment options and access important patient information with MyMater Bedside. This touchscreen device provides you with access to TV, radio, streaming services and social media, as well as educational information about caring for you and your baby after birth.

The birthing rooms at Mater Mothers’ Hospital provide a warm and home-like atmosphere for the birth of your baby. Each birthing room is self-contained, with a television, telephone, CD player with iPod adapter and aromatherapy burner.

Your midwife will help you achieve your individual birth plan, and make the most of pain relief options. Refreshments are provided for you and your support person. Meals and snacks for your support person can also be obtained from the café or vending machines on level 5 of the hospital.

Support person and children

Your support person may accompany you into the birthing suite during labour and birth. If a child is to attend the birth, please prepare them for this special occasion—what they might expect to see, hear and experience. Also, arrange for someone other than your support person to look after your child during the birth or when, perhaps, the child may need to leave the room. Children are not permitted in the operating suite at the hospital.

If you have an emergency caesarean birth with a spinal anaesthetic, you are welcome to have one support person into the operating suite and we will provide them with appropriate theatre clothing. If you need to have a caesarean with a general anaesthetic your support person will not be permitted in the operating suite. No additional visitors are allowed in the recovery room.

Mater Mothers' Hospital is proud to offer an award-winning room service to all patients. All meals are freshly prepared and can be ordered at your convenience and delivered to your room within 45 minutes of your request.

How to place an order

Please use the bedside phone at your bedside to call extension 3663 between 6.30 am and 7 pm to place your room service order. Alternatively, online meal ordering is available via your MyMater Bedside device from 6:30 am to 7 pm, with a selection of snacks available until 8 pm. If meal ordering is not available on your MyMater Bedside device, this may be due to your specific dietary requirements.

If you would like a family member or carer to place an order on your behalf they can phone 07 3163 3663 from outside the hospital. 

Special dietary considerations

If you have any special dietary requirements please inform your midwife. If you have been prescribed a therapeutic diet, our room service representatives will assist you to make appropriate selections for your individual needs.

Fresh jugs of water are available in the refrigerators in the laundry and patients’ lounge. These are usually replaced as necessary at each mid-meal time.

There is more than one Chapel at South Brisbane. Chapels are available in the following locations:

• Mater Private Hospital Brisbane, Level 6
• Mater Mothers' Private Brisbane and Mater Mothers' Hospital, Level 5
• Mater Hospital Brisbane, Level 2
• Mater Salmon Building, Level 3
• Mater Convent Chapel (next door to Aubigny Place)

Catholic Mass is celebrated at 12.30 pm Monday to Friday at Mater Hospital Brisbane. Catholic Mass is celebrated at 8.00 am on Sunday at Mater Convent Chapel.

We encourage you to care for your pelvic floor before and after the birth of your baby. If you would like to see one of our Women’s Health Physiotherapists, you will be asked to make a booking prior to your admission to hospital through Mater's Health and Wellnes Centre. If you have not made a booking but decide you would like to see a physiotherapist once you are at hospital, please call 07 3163 6000.

Whilst it is essential that Mater maintains quality safety and care, we also require all of our patients and visitors to take a conscientious role in supporting our efforts to retain this level of excellence by following all safety instructions. We also ask that you speak up and let us know immediately of any safety or care issues.

At Mater Mothers Hospital we value your safety above all else.

Our Patient and Carer Escalation (PACE) program allows family members and/or carers to escalate any concerns they may have about a patient’s condition at any time, day or night. It is important to raise any concerns as early as possible.

For more information on how to raise any concerns, learn more about our PACE procedure.