Our Services

Canberra Antenatal Care (CAC) is a private shared care option for women of Canberra and surrounding suburbs.

Patients normally would see the Doctors at CAC for their first consult & dating scan at 8-9 weeks. They have consultation with the community midwives through ACT Health at 16-20 weeks for their first visit and to start their antenatal card. They are also booked into the hospital of their choosing to deliver publicly (North Canberra Hospital – formally, Calvary Bruce or Canberra Hospital). The remainder of their antenatal care is shared between CAC and ACT Health community appointments. CAC handle all the records and results and ensure the hospital chosen for delivery has a complete antenatal file.

*The delivery is managed by staff at the public hospital chosen for birth and our Doctors you see at CAC will not be attending the delivery.

The doctors at CAC will write a referral for the patient to deliver publicly through ACT Health and provide the patient with details on how to arrange their first appointment through the Canberra Maternity Options phoneline.

You will be able to access private antenatal care, private scans and consultations with CAC as well as shared care with ACT Health. 

An example of this model can be seen here.

At Canberra Antenatal Care, we can see patients for their whole pregnancy and antenatal care or just for a one-off ultrasound and/or consultation. This may be the case if you would like a specialist to perform the ultrasound for you and discuss the results with you, all at the same time in the one appointment, or maybe your GP, midwife or Obstetrician has requested a second opinion following a scan or result they have received. There is always a consultation fee as well as ultrasound fee associated with these appointments, we do not offer routine ultrasounds only.

Our highly skilled team are committed to provide guidance and support to ensure your experience is as stress-free and enjoyable as possible. Our aim is to make every family feel comfortable and have the experience they desire. We provide the following services:

• Pre-pregnancy counselling, investigations, genetic testing
• Treatment of early pregnancy complications eg miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy
• Placement of cervical sutures (cerclage) for Cervical incompetence
• Antenatal care, genetic screening, gestational diabetes management
• Intrapartum care, vaginal delivery, instrumental and caesarean delivery
• High risk obstetrics, previous pregnancy complications, multiple pregnancy, diabetes, hypertension, pre-eclampsia, other medical conditions
• Caesarean sections when indicated eg low lying placenta or where requested
• Post partum care, breastfeeding support, emotional support, contraception including Mirena, Kyleena, Implanon

Our collaboration with the Canberra Fetal Assessment Centre enables us to provide comprehensive ultrasound services for women in Obstetrics & Gynaecology (O&G). 

When seeking consultation with our O&G specialists at the Capital Specialist Centre DEAKIN, every woman benefits from our convenient in-house ultrasound service.

• Medical and Surgical management of menstrual disorders including polycystic ovarian syndrome, dysmenorrhoea, and menorrhagia
• Colposcopy (in rooms) and surgical management of cervical pathology
• Sexual Health and contraception, including insertion of IUD and laparoscopic sterilisation
• Management of perimenopause and menopausal concerns including postmenopausal bleeding and HRT
• Adolescent gynaecology
• Medical management of pelvic pain and endometriosis, with referral networks for women requiring complex endometriosis surgical management
• Assessment and management of ovarian cysts

Our collaboration with the Canberra Fetal Assessment Centre enables us to provide comprehensive ultrasound services for women in Obstetrics & Gynaecology (O&G). 

When seeking consultation with our O&G specialists at the Capital Specialist Centre DEAKIN, every woman benefits from our convenient in-house ultrasound service.

Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) is a simple, low risk screening test available to women who are 10 weeks and over. It is a blood test that analyses cell free DNA in the maternal blood and gives a very high detection rate for Down syndrome (Trisomy 21), it also gives an indication of whether the fetus is at a high or low risk of having Trisomy 13 and Trisomy 18. It will detect 99% of Trisomy 21 fetuses. The results typically take 7-10 days and there is a 2-4% chance of an inconclusive result.

A low risk result would be reassuring, reducing the risk of aneuploidy to approximately 1 in 10,000, while a high risk result should be confirmed with invasive testing (organised through Canberra Fetal Assessment Centre).

Unfortunately, this is a private test and not yet on the Medicare Benefits schedule. The NIPT package through CFAC & CSC costs $625 and includes an early pregnancy ultrasound and the NIPT/FTS blood collection. 

Other pathology can also be collected on the same day, including Antenatal Pathology and CMV screening.

Please see our Forms section for a downloadable a copy of our NIPT package referral form to take to your GP for request.

Please contact CFAC to make a booking for the NIPT package:

www.cfac.com.au or 02 6162 0582

At Capital Specialist Centre, we can facilitate the collection of your VCGS Prepair, genetic carrier screening. No referral or request is needed, we handle everything for you!

Genetic carrier screening is a simple mouth saliva swab that is taken for you and your reproductive partner to find out if you are carriers for a genetic condition.

• Having one faulty copy and one working copy of a gene is called being a carrier. Being a carrier usually does not affect your health.
• Most people who are identified as a carrier have no family history of the condition
• If you and your reproductive partner are both carriers for the same genetic condition, you usually have a 1 in 4 (25%) chance of having a child born with that condition
• Knowing this information can be useful when starting a family

At CSC we handle everything for you, from the request and consent form, collection of the swab, handling and sending of the swab to VCGS and the processing and notifying of all results. There is a free genetic counselling service available to patients through VCGS for all high-risk results. All high-risk results will be followed up by one of our specialist Obstetricians.

There are 3 different tests for Prepair Genetic Carrier Screening to consider:

• Prepair 3 is the standard screening test which looks at three common, inherited genetic conditions in our population: Cystic Fibrosis (CF), Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) and Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)
• Prepair 500+ looks at over 500 genes, including genes for CF, FXS and SMA ($975 per couple
• Prepair 1000+ is the most comprehensive test that looks at over 1000 genes associated with more than 750 conditions, including CF, FXS and SMA ($1,500 per couple)

Prepair is a “once in a lifetime” test, meaning as long as you have not had this test performed before, the laboratory fees for the 3 standard tests are bulkbilled for those who are Medicare eligible. 

There is a small $50 admin and processing fee for each patient, payable at Capital Specialist Centre at the time of collection.

Follow the link below to book your Prepair Genetic Carrier Screening swab in today through HotDoc

CSC offers the services of Dr Alisha Azmir, a specialist consultant surgeon. Dr Alisha Azmir is a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons trained in minimally invasive techniques for the treatment of benign and malignant colorectal conditions. 

Dr Alisha Azmir offers the following specialty services: 

• Bowel cancer (colon & rectal cancer) 
• Colonoscopy 
• Proctology – treating anorectal disease including haemorrhoids, anal fissures, perianal abscess and anal fistula disease 
• Benign conditions of the colon including diverticulitis 
• Rectal prolapse 
• Faecal incontinence 
• Pelvic floor dysfunction
• Inflammatory bowel disease (in collaboration with gastroenterology) 
• Endometriosis (in collaboration with gynaecology) 
• Abdominal wall hernias 
• Gallbladder disease 
• General surgical emergencies 

Lauren is a registered nurse and lactation consultant. She completed her new graduate year at The Canberra Hospital where she worked in paediatrics for five years. She then completed her masters in Child and Family Health Nursing and now works as a Maternal and Child Health Nurse with Canberra Health Services. Lauren completed her study to become a Board Certified Lactation Consultant in 2022. She thoroughly enjoys working with families, supporting them throughout their breastfeeding journey. 

Rebates for consultations may apply from some Private Health Insurers.

Lauren attends the following practices for consults:

Capital Specialist Centre (Deakin, Canberra ACT)