The Royal Hospital for Women provides care for women of all ages and stages of life.
This International Women's Day we are celebrating women of The Royal

International Women’s Day shines a spotlight on women’s achievements. At The Royal, we see these displayed in abundance every day watching women’s grit and resilience as they navigate their way through health challenges.

It is our great privilege to provide countless women with blue-chip, empathic care that extends well beyond our hospital walls.

Like many successful career women, Laura Toplass found herself struggling as she adjusted to motherhood after the birth of her daughter Wilhelmina 15 months ago. Her stimulating job as a producer for TV programs was suddenly replaced with the new and uncharted demands of a newborn.

“You hear how hard motherhood is, but no-one breaks it down and tells you how physically overwhelming it is on your nervous system. You are ‘on’ all day long, so you’re in flight or fight mode. You don’t get a break,” says Laura.

But with the help of The Royal’s perinatal psychologist, Elloise Brake, Laura now has a toolkit of techniques to help her cope. It is services like these at The Royal that help women and mothers keep an equal footing in the world.

“It’s such a big responsibility, shaping someone’s life. It became clear I needed to learn what motherhood meant to me at the same time learning how to mother my little girl,” she says.

Elloise has helped hundreds of women like Laura since she began working at the Royal 18 months ago. More than 10 per cent of women who come into the hospital have depression and anxiety during the perinatal period - the weeks before and after the birth of their baby.

“It’s really important you look after yourself as much as you can,” Laura says. The support she received at The Royal has been a vital part of allowing her family to thrive.

In these uncertain times, International Women’s Day is a timely reminder that The Royal remains there for every woman in NSW, whatever health challenge she may be facing.

Women deserve the very best of medical care, whatever their age, wherever they live and whatever their circumstances in life, and International Women’s Day reminds us of this fact.

The Royal Hospital for Women helps thousands of women during some of the most harrowing times of their life. We don’t just provide world-class care when they come through our doors; our staff stand alongside our patients, every step of the way, helping them navigate their way through the challenges.

84-year-old Vivienne Windsor found herself in a state of shock late last year when her GP sent her straight off to have a scan when she turned up for her check-up last year complaining of bloating.

He called within minutes of receiving the results. “Get yourself over to The Royal Hospital for Women as soon as you can,” he told her.

The scan showed she had ovarian cancer, one of the most difficult to treat because there are no signs or symptoms, allowing the cancer to spread undetected.

Within days, Vivienne, a retired nurse, began nine weeks of chemotherapy followed by a hysterectomy. “It all happened so fast,” she recalls. “But the team were so conscientious, I really couldn’t fault them.”

Vivienne is just one of hundreds of women who receive treatment for ovarian cancer every year at The Royal. More than 1000 cycles of chemotherapy are provided to women every year. Vivienne is now back in her retirement village in Maroubra, where she enjoys walking on the beach, cooking and when COVID-19 restrictions ease, aqua-aerobics.

“I feel very lucky. I didn’t have any of the side effects people told me about such as nausea or vomiting, all I had was a bit of numbness in my feet,” she recalls. As well as performing operations and providing chemotherapy, The Royal is also tackling ovarian cancer through rigorous research.

vivian

One of the missions of International Women’s Day is to help women to be in a position of power to make informed decisions about their health. At The Royal, we help make this happen every day. We collaborate closely with our patients to help them make the right choices for themselves and their families.

When 39-year-old data analyst Jaime Wotherspoon gave birth to her son Hunter last year she was catapulted into the highly charged world of premature babies. Things started to go downhill when she had her 28 week ultrasound at Sutherland hospital and she was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, a life threatening condition for both mother and child.

She was transferred to The Royal Hospital for Women where she spent two weeks in specialised antenatal care. There her blood pressure and Hunter’s heart rate were constantly monitored.

When Hunter was born via emergency caesarean section at 30 weeks, he weighed only 930 grams. Jaimie spent an anxious eight weeks hovering over his incubator in The Royal's Newborn Intensive Care Unit where he needed assistance breathing. There were a lot of choices to make, and each one of them was guided by expert care.

The staff in the NICU and in antenatal care are phenomenal, I can’t fault them at all,” she said. 

Hunter has now been transferred to the special care nursery at Sutherland hospital, closer to home in Caringbah, where they are learning to breast feed. Jaime hopes to bring her son home soon.