Expectant parents will soon be able to ring one number to arrange maternity care in Canberra, in an overhaul designed to make the system less confusing.
From next Monday, a new streamlined service will help parents navigate the public maternity system.
It will help match them to a model of care that best suits their needs, close to home.
It will also allow mothers to meet with a midwife early in their pregnancy.
It comes after a survey found 93 per cent of women said having a single phone number would make it easier to access maternity services.
"For many first-time parents, learning you are having a baby is an exciting and happy time. It can also be quite overwhelming, it isn't always clear what new parents should do when they first find out they are expecting a baby," Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said.
"The new Canberra Maternity Options single-entry-point service will help women to understand their options before making an informed decision on what pregnancy and birthing care would best suit them and their family."
The service, announced in the 2019 budget, comes as a long-running parliamentary inquiry into Canberra's maternity services continues to ventilate problems within the system.
The inquiry was launched after midwives and staff at Canberra Hospital penned an anonymous letter to the government saying patients' lives were being put at risk due to understaffing and poor management.
Families have shared harrowing stories of their treatment, including a mother whose stillborn child was referred to as the "products of conception" in front of her.
Health official Dave Peffer told the ACT Legislative Assembly's health committee last month the number of births at Canberra Hospital had increased by 4.5 per cent a year the past five years, putting pressure on the system.
Midwives said the ACT's popular birth centre program was so in demand you almost need to "ovulate, copulate and get on the phone".
- Canberra Maternity Options launches on Monday, September 30. The number will be 02 5124 9977.
