A/PROF FIONA BROWNFOOT

University Qualifications: Bachelor of Medicine / Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and PhD
Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Internship and general medical training: The Royal Melbourne Hospital
General obstetrics and gynaecology training: The Royal Women’s Hospital
Rural obstetrics training: Wodonga Hospital
Advanced obstetrics training: Mercy Hospital for Women, Reproductive birth unit and Mercy
Perinatal, Maternal Fetal Medicine unit, high risk pregnancy unit.

A/Prof Fiona Brownfoot is a specialist female private obstetrician in Melbourne with extensive qualifications and experience in obstetrics and gynaecology.

After completing her obstetrics and gynaecology training and her PhD, A/Prof Fiona Brownfoot was appointed a specialist position at the The Epworth Freemasons Hospital, East Melbourn. She is also an Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne. She loves the fusion of being at the cutting edge of science and developing treatments to improve outcomes and caring for patients with normal and more complicated pregnancies.

More background and qualifications…

Fiona developed a passion for obstetrics during medical school. After completing her internship at The Royal Melbourne Hospital she embarked in specialist training in obstetrics and gynaecology at The Royal Women’s Hospital and completed her rural term at Wodonga Hospital.

It was during her clinical training that she realised there were few medical treatments for pregnancy complications. She moved to the Mercy Hospital for Women and completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne exploring ‘Developing novel therapeutics for preeclampsia’ with inspiring supervisors Professor Stephen Tong and Professor Tu’uhevaha Kaitu’u-Lino. The team are internationally recognised for translational medicine and Fiona has accepted many awards, given many presentations, obtained numerous grants and published over 60 papers. More recently Fiona has developed an interest in novel biomedical engineering technologies to better detect fetal distress and she now heads a multidisciplinary team of researchers developing novel devices to improve pregnancy outcomes.

Fiona completed her advanced training in obstetrics at the Mercy Hospital for Women. She undertook extra training in infertility through the reproductive birth unit and high-risk pregnancy management through Mercy Perinatal, the Maternal Fetal Medicine Unit. It was during these terms that she managed the most complex pregnancies. These complications ranged from recurrent pregnancy loss and stillbirth, maternal medical disorders such as kidney disease, high blood pressure, epilepsy and diabetes, fetal abnormalities and twins, to severe growth restriction, preterm birth and preeclampsia.

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Fiona’s work life really has 3 main components including her private practice, her academic position and her public consulting appointment.

Private Practice

A/Prof Fiona Brownfoot has a private practice at The Epworth. She loves caring for her patients during their pregnancy, their baby’s birth and continuing to care for them in the first few weeks of parenthood. It is a joy and privilege to be entrusted with this special role.

Academic Role

Fiona is an Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne and in this role she develops new treatments for obstetric conditions and mentors and supervises PhD students who will be the next generation of clinician scientists.

Public Consulting Role

Fiona really enjoys supervising and training doctors to become obstetricians and teaching medical students at The Mercy Hospital for Women. It is very rewarding seeing residents and registrars develop their skills to become the next generation of obstetricians.

My Family

Perhaps one of Fiona’s greatest achievements is at home and is found in her precious family and little daughters. Her daughters have brought her family so much love, laughter and joy and she really couldn’t imagine life without them.

Having experienced pregnancy and birth herself Fiona knows first-hand what the experience is like, realising there is much more to obstetrics than the physical and medical aspects. There is an emotional layer and listening to her patients and understanding and meeting their needs and expectations is really important to her.

How My Research Benefits My Patients

A/Prof Fiona Brownfoot is a specialist private obstetrician in Melbourne and scientist and really enjoys developing new treatments and devices for pregnancy conditions. She frequently attends leading national and international obstetric conferences to present her team’s work and learn about cutting edge advances in obstetrics. This means that she is absolutely informed and up to date with the latest practice in obstetrics to achieve the best outcomes for you and your baby.