Birth Afterthoughts Clinic — Canterbury
The Birth Afterthoughts Clinic is a listening and debriefing service. It is available for anyone who has given birth to their baby in one of our Canterbury facilities.
Contact us
To contact the Birth Afterthoughts Clinic:
- phone: 03 364 4787
- email: birthafterthoughts@cdhb.health.nz
Where to find us
Birth Afterthought Clinic appointments are held at Christchurch Women's Hospital every Friday, by appointment.
If you prefer, we can do telephone or video appointments instead of meeting at a clinic.
Services we provide
Sometimes events around a baby’s birth may be confusing, unexpected or unplanned. There may have been a need for medical intervention, or even a medical emergency.
Our Birth Afterthoughts Clinic provides an opportunity to:
- have your questions answered
- give you an understanding of why things happened the way they did.
During the appointment with the Birth Afterthoughts Clinic you and your whānau can talk with a midwife and read through your birth notes together. You may want to ask specific questions, or talk about memories, feelings and thoughts you have about the birth and any part of that experience.
We welcome your partner or support people to attend the clinic with you.
We suggest you wait 4 to 6 weeks after giving birth before requesting an appointment. This gives you time to recover from the birth and allows your thought processes to settle a little and be ready to talk through your birth experience.
Referral information
You can self-refer by email or by leaving a voicemail message. A midwife will aim to contact you within 5 working days to confirm your appointment.
When sending or leaving us a message, tell us:
- your name,
- your date of birth
- a contact phone number or email address.