ph 03 3772485 fx 03 3531167 em manager@mmpo.org.nz
PO Box 21106, Christchurch, New Zealand
Physical Location of MMPO
Standardised and comprehensive Maternity Notes

Nationally standardized set of maternity notes

In 1996, the Ministry of Health introduced the concept of continuity of maternity care by one named health practitioner from early pregnancy onwards. This presented the need to develop a comprehensive maternity care record for midwives and women that would cover the entire childbearing period.

A multifunctional set of woman held MMPO Maternity Notes (40 pages) were developed which document care from early pregnancy to 6 weeks postpartum. They are now used by women and midwives to record almost one third of all births in New Zealand.

The New Zealand College of Midwives developed the MMPO Maternity Notes

Identification of a summary of data required for:

  • Midwives to record the care, advice and discussions with women throughout care
  • Midwives to collate data for their NZCOM Midwifery Standards Review
  • Compliance with Section 88 and for the government to approve payment
  • Women to record and monitor their progress

The data fields were then grouped in sequence of pregnancy progress and care contact.

A sample set of notes was then trialed between 1997 and 1999 by midwives and women.

The final versions of notes are now available for midwives and women to purchase.

We now sell over 25,000 sets of notes per year.

How the MMPO Maternity Notes work

These notes collect information in triplicate during the course of the pregnancy, labour and birth, and postnatal period. Pages are perforated and removed at particular points throughout the care.

  • The top copy is taken by the midwife or doctor as the original copy of the health notes
  • The second copy is sent to the MMPO to enter specific indicators into the MMPO database (for claiming and incorporation into the midwife's annual standards review report)
  • The third copy remains in the book of notes as the woman's copy

Managing the MMPO Maternity Notes in your practice

In New Zealand we have a tradition of women held Maternity Notes.

  1. Presentation of notes to the woman

    2. Midwives generally give the complete set of notes to women when they register as her LMC at about 12 - 15 weeks (for details of sending pages to the MMPO click here). The woman keeps the complete set of notes.

  2. Management of midwifes copy of the notes

    3. At each visit the midwife takes out and retains her original top copy of the notes that she has written at that visit and stores them in a clear file within her lockable portable file carrier, leaving the woman with the bulk of the complete booklet part of the notes.

  3. Use of notes for the hospital phase of care

    4. The midwife continues to record the hospital phase of the care in the MMPO Maternity Notes (and copies) required by the hospital.

  4. Storage on completion of care

    5. Midwives in New Zealand are required to store their clinical notes for 10 years. Because the woman retains the notes booklet, the pages retained by the midwives take less space to store. All data submitted to the MMPO by the midwife for that woman is retained electronically as a back-up.

To purchase your MMPO Maternity Notes please click on the icon below for your Application Form:

 Application Form

fax a request to: MMPO 03 3531167 or email: mmpo@mmpo.org.nz
Please include your Name and the address for the notes to be sent to.
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