Visit to “Casa della Salute della Donna dell’Infanzia e dell’Adolescenza” in Gorizia

A midwife-led model of care

On 12 August, Serena Brigidi — on secondment at the Burlo Garofolo, WHO Collaborating Centre for Maternal and Child Health — together with Patrizia Quattrocchi (IPOV) and Sandra Morano, a gynaecologist with extensive national and international experience, visited the “Casa della Salute della Donna dell’Infanzia e dell’Adolescenza” in Gorizia (Friuli Venezia Giulia) as part of their collaboration with IPOV activities in Trieste. They were welcomed by the head of the center and promoter of the project, midwife Roberta Giornelli, and by midwives Francesca Demitri, Rebecca Donda and Maura Lot.

The center is unique at the national level: a multifunctional space that welcomes women, their children and partners in spacious, comfortable areas — including rest zones and a fully equipped kitchen — set within the green surroundings of Parco Basaglia, inside the city and near the Slovenian border.

Serena Brigidi, on secondment at the Burlo Garofolo – WHO Collaborating Centre for Maternal and Child Health, and Patrizia Quattrocchi (IPOV) were received by the head of the center, midwife Roberta Giornelli, and by midwife Francesca Demitri. They were also accompanied by Sandra Morano, a gynaecologist with extensive national and international experience, on a scientific visit to Trieste to collaborate with IPOV activities.

Opened in April 2024 as a project of the Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Giuliano Isontina (ASUGI), it offers an innovative, life-course model of women’s health, along with perinatal, child and adolescent care. Its organisational hallmark is full midwifery leadership. Roberta Giornelli, head of the center and promoter of the project since its inception, works with the team of hospital and community midwives from the Monfalcone and Gorizia hubs and with professionals from territorial and hospital services (SC. Salute della Donna, dell’Età Evolutiva e della Famiglia -Consultorio Familiare, SC Ostetricia e Ginecologia, di Gorizia e Monfalcone). In this way, women can access services related to sexual and reproductive health, pregnancy and childbirth at the center, meeting — as needed — obstetricians, midwives and other professionals who provide specific outpatient services, among others.

Particular attention is devoted to the childbirth continuum. Pregnant women find not only counselling but also antenatal education classes and the opportunity to use a splendid pool. Water-based activities are offered both for pregnancy and for babies who, in their first months and years, attend with mothers, fathers and dedicated midwives, discovering themselves and their surroundings in an aquatic environment that supports wellbeing and learning.

The experience of the Casa della Salute is truly singular. Over the coming months, IPOV will further explore the origins and potential of this facility, in line with our goal of identifying and connecting good practices and exemplary experiences that support the wellbeing of women, couples and newborns.