Mothers & Babies | Growlife Medical

Brisbane's premier child health clinic for breastfeeding support, infant sleep and help with common baby issues. We were called the Possums Clinic but we are now called Growlife Medical Highgate Hill. We remain one of Brisbane's most comprehensive teams of specialists in early life care.

Are you looking for family-centred care that optimally supports your capacity to enjoy your child? That provides genuine solutions to the common difficulties of sleep, breastfeeding and settling in the early weeks of life?

Specialist Baby Clinic

We are one of Brisbane’s favourite specialist baby clinics . Growlife Medical Highgate Hill's privately run multi-disciplinary specialist clinics for baby and toddler problems.  We offer you the help you need to find your own way through challenges that emerge in early life. 


Trust our family general practices in Oxley , Sherwood and Highgate Hill  to provide first class early life care, supported by our mothers and babies special interest team at our Highgate Hill location. We are with you from before birth with our Life With Your Newborn antenatal classes through to the toddler years and beyond.


Our mothers and babies team can also provide comprehensive assessment and advice via Telehealth in the comfort of your own home.

Breastfeeding Support Service

Our specialist Breastfeeding Support Service includes a tiered response from peer support parents groups, to in-clinic midwives, Shared Medical Appointments with a Lactation Consultant and Midwife to one-on-one Lactation Consultant Support. Our lactation consultants bring you the very latest in evidence-based, holistic breastfeeding support. Read our breastfeeding help blog series.


We understand the strong desire to breastfeed that many women have, and want to help you make your breastfeeding journey comfortable and easy, to give your child the best nutritional start to life possible. Many patients have told us that our breastfeeding experts saved their breastfeeding journey. Let us work with you. Support starts from our free parenting groups, to home visits, in clinic appointments or telehealth with our midwife lactation consultant , to in-clinic assessment with our highly skilled GP Lactation Consultant .

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Breastfeeding Support Service | Grow Medical

  • How long should you breastfeed for?

    It is ideal to breastfeed for 2 years, or as long as mother and baby wish. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding until around 6 months, then continuing breastfeeding alongside food until age 2. A Growlife Medical lactation consult can help you achieve the benefits of breastfeeding.

  • What foods should I avoid when breastfeeding?

    No foods should be avoided when breastfeeding, except for alcohol and medically diagnosed allergies. Breastfeeding creates immune tolerance to food, a varied diet can reduce food allergy for baby. For more info see a Growlife Medical expert, or learn more about what to eat and drink when breastfeeding.

Infant Sleep Clinic & Home Visits | Grow Medical

Infant Sleep Problems

Our specialist Infant Sleep Clinic includes consultations with Specialist GPs, Dr Kate Pink, Dr Jane Herbert and Dr Sonja Morgan. After an initial consultation you can access ongoing group follow-up with no out-of-pocket expenses.

Difficulties with baby sleep is one of the most enduring challenges of parenting. Advice is abundant; from rigid routine, cry-it-out strategies to attachment parenting. We recognise each mother-baby pair is unique, and believe that the relationship between clinician and parent is often as important as the advice. We take our time to understand you and your baby, by assessing breastfeeding, growth, mother's health, baby's health, your social context. Read about our approach to baby sleep.

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  • How long should a newborn sleep?

    Most newborns need 9-14hrs of sleep in 24 hours. Each baby tends to sleep a consistent amount over 24 hours, broken into short periods or taken in longer blocks. If not the case, consider professional help.

  • When do babies start sleeping through the night?

    Night sleep duration varies, increasing from birth to 4 months. Some babies sleep through from 8 weeks. An average 9 month old will wake 1 to 4 times per night. If unmanageable, seek professional help.


Other Common Baby Issues

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Solutions to common baby issues | Grow Medical

  • What is tongue tie?

    A tongue-tie is a band of tight tissue that tethers the underside of a baby's tongue to the floor of the mouth and restricts the tongue's range and may interfere with breastfeeding. If uncertain, seek a  professional opinion.

  • How can you tell if baby is tongue tied?

    Only a trained doctor can diagnose tongue-tie. We recommend a one-hour mother & baby appointment to examine, assess and provide strategies. Good feeding support can avoid surgery. A specialist GP at our Highgate Hill clinic can perform a corrective procedure known as a frenotomy if appropriate.

  • How much does it cost to get a tongue tie treated?

    Our professionals will do a full 60 minute mother, baby and feeding assessment before performing a corrective procedure known as a frenotomy. The out of pocket cost is $90 and a frenotomy is bulk billed. A follow-up appointment may be recommended.

Mother and baby activities & structured courses | Grow Medical

Activities and Social Connection

Social connection can have a greater impact upon your health than almost any other lifestyle habit. Positive sensory experiences for your baby can help with reduced crying, better sleep and helps them develop their emotional regulation skills. We encourage a deeper connection between mother and baby via a variety of activities and structured courses including:
These groups also build the social cohesion of our community!
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Before Birth and Beyond

We believe that continuity through pregnancy and beyond is essential to good care. Early life is a time where you can make the biggest impact upon the health of your family and your growing baby. We find that establishing a relationship through pregnancy means that your first visit with your newborn is like welcoming a new friend to the clinic! We can support you through:
Our unique antenatal classes for you and your partner focus on what comes after birth - how to prepare for sleep, breastfeeding and becoming a family.
Antenatal Classes
Life With Your Newborn antenatal classes | Grow Medical
Antenatal and Postnatal Depression Support | Grow Medical

Mental Health and Family Function

Becoming a parent is one of the biggest challenges we face. It causes us to question who we are, where we came from, and the experiences that have shaped us. Anxiety can bubble from nowhere, and Antenatal and Postnatal Depression is common, and can affect both mum and partner alike. We take a proactive approach to supporting your mental health by freely discussion your emotions, and providing further support where needed, including:

 

 

We recommend all parents do The Circle of Security Program

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Unsettled Baby Case Study

  "Luis was an unsettled baby from early on, always fussing at the breast. He started out OK in the first few days, but then started feeding more and more frequently. Luis and his mother became more and more frustrated with each passing day until he was up and down all through the night and pulling away from the breast."


Sound familiar? You are not alone. Our clinic has helped thousands through situations like this through a simple, but comprehensive approach. Through a rapid assessment of fit and hold problems with breastfeeding, our team can make breastfeeding comfortable and effective. Within two visits, Luis' pulling from the breast stopped and his mother's painful nipples started healing.


Our expert GPs have advanced training in paediatric care, and carefully checked Luis to ensure his physical health was on track. They also spent the time to listen to mum's concerns about his health, and to help her work through the anxiety that had appeared from nowhere since he had been born.


We all know sleepless nights lead to mood problems and depression, and we actively work to help you find solutions that allow you to live again. Without the nightmare of a cry-it-out strategy. For Luis, enrolling in our SongLife Connections program had a dramatic impact on his sleep by providing a nurturing way of helping him to feel settled and comfortable.


For him, those difficult early days are now over, but our team continues to enjoy watching him grow... 

We Are Leaders in Child Health

Our health professionals are leaders in their field. Our health professional team utilise the latest, evidence-based approaches to infant behavioural challenges, including in the management of breastfeeding problems and problems of feeds, sleep, infant crying, and parental mood. Our Breastfeeding Support Service is renowned for its leading  GP Lactation Consultant Dr Sonja Morgan and our Endorsed Midwife and Lactation Consultant Sam Foster. Our Infant Sleep Clinic applies techniques designed to reduce the stress of unsettled nights. We believe that a consistent approach based on solid science, and adapted to match your individual circumstances is best.


Our Highgate Hill clinic utilises a team based approach to early infant care and our health professionals can help with referrals to other members of our team where needed including paediatrician , psychologist , physiotherapist and music therapist. Our health professionals Dr Sonja Morgan , Dr Kate Pink , Dr Jane Herbert  supported by paediatric nurses and midwives Alison Chambers and Lara Rossback are all passionate about managing sleep, breastfeeding and other aspects of early life care. We tailor the support we offer to suit your family’s unique needs. Our Sherwood and Oxley clinics also have GPs equipped with diplomas in child health, skilled paediatric nurses and endorsed midwives ready to support your family in early childhood and all other stages of life.


Our beautifully refurbished clinic has a friendly, personal atmosphere that will help you feel at home. And parking is easy and free!


Most importantly, our team at Growlife  Medical Centres in  Highgate Hill , Sherwood and Oxley are committed to supporting your whole family's health throughout life's journey. This is a great time to find a healthcare team that genuinely understands, takes the time to listen, and is in this with you for the long haul.


Phone us now on 07 3036 4081 or book an appointment online for you and your child at Growlife Medical .