Warwick Hospital to open a Midwife Led Unit.

If you’re having a baby in 2018 you could be one of the first Mummies lucky enough to use this fantastic new facility.

Warwick Hospital has already begun work on building the brand new Midwife Led Unit which will enable local Mums to have their baby in comfortable surroundings and with incredible new facilities including birthing pools in every room. This will make all the difference to thousands of local parents who want to opt for a different birthing experience. Currently Warwick Hospital only has one birthing pool meaning if your heart is set on using it, but someone else is in there before you, you miss out.

So what is a Midwife Led Unit and what does it mean for our Mums in Warwickshire? We know you will have lots of questions so we have thought about what you might like to know and asked Warwick Hospital to talk us through the new plans and what it means for our local Mums.

1. What is an MLU?

A Midwife Led Unit is an special unit for low – risk Mums to be. It is staffed by experienced midwives who are experts in child birth and everything that goes alongside it. Midwife led units are usually on hospital grounds, meaning that should an unforeseen complication arrive Mums still have access to the medical labour unit and all the expertise they have to offer too.

2. What are the benefits of an MLU?

Midwife led units are particularly suitable for ‘low-risk’ Mums because the rate of interventions is lower and the outcome for the baby is no different compared with an obstetric unit. (https://www.nice.org.uk)

They offer a home from home environment which aims to create a calming atmosphere for parents-to-be so that they can have the most positive birth experience possible with the added comfort that a medical team is nearby should it be required in an emergency.

You can read our local Mum, Laura’s experience of birthing in a birthing centre in Coventry here. Laura’s first birth was in a labour ward and she describes the differences between the two.

3. Who can use it?

Any women who choose to come to Warwick Hospital. But there will be criteria which will be as follows:

Women who are between 37 and 42 weeks pregnant
Women between 16 and 37 years of age
No complications in a previous pregnancy
No complications in this pregnancy-these may be medical conditions
BMI between 18.0 and 35.0
Baby must be head down
Women having only a single baby in this pregnancy
Women with a maximum of 4 previous babies.

4. When will I be able to use it?

The new unit will be opening early 2018

5. What will be the key features?

Each room will have a birthing pool and a dedicated active birth space with equipment to help you find comfortable upright positions, a drop down double bed and cot to enable you, your partner and new baby to comfortably get to know each other in the first few hours. There will be a cosy room with an adjacent kitchenette that you and your partner can use at any time and access to a beautifully designed outdoor space for you to mobilise in, in fair weather.

6. Is there fundraising needed?

Yes whilst NHS funds are covering the build of the unit there are a number of things that we are fundraising for which are additional items we feel would make even more of a difference. For example, two birthing pools are provided and a further two we are fundraising for. For more information on the fundraising appeal please see our post here.

7. How will it be decided if I am eligible to use it?

Your community midwife will be able to discuss this with you at your very first appointment once she has taken a full personal history from you.

8. How many rooms will it have?

The new MLU will have four rooms.

9. How many birthing pools will be available?

There will be four birthing pools, one for each room, two are already provided and the other two we will provide using money raised through fundraising, so please do get involved. See link here to fundraising appeal and how you can help .

10. Can I stay in the same room throughout my time there?

Both you and your birthing partner will be able to stay in the same room until you go home with your baby unless you or the baby have required transfer to the obstetric unit for any aspect of your care.

11. How long will I be able to stay there?

We anticipate that you will have a straightforward birth and would aim to have you home within 6-12 hours after the birth.

12. Can I stay over night?

Yes, if this is necessary or you feel you need just a few hours extra support.

13. Will I still be able to have pain relief?

Evidence suggests that women who birth in an MLU require much less pain relief as the environment will be one in which you are able to relax and let nature takes it course but we will be offering TENS machines, simple pain relief such as paracetamol, use of the birthing pool, gas and air and stronger pain relief such as pethidine or morphine. We will not be offering an epidural in the MLU.

Take It From Mummy and Mum Knows Best Warwickshire are committed to making a difference to Mums in our community, we have identified some important things that we can fundraise for to make this unit even better for our Mums when they visit.

Please take a look at our fundraising page which is working towards the Bumps To Babies Campaign for more detailed information on what we are fundraising for and how you can help us put the icing on the cake for future Mummies in our area.

If you would like to be involved in fundraising or have an idea or would like to hold some fundraising yourself, please get in touch, we would love to hear from you!
We will be planning lots of fundraising too which everyone will be invited to! We would love to see you and your small people there while we once again come together to help our local community and of course, our local Mummies.

LINKS

Fundraising JustGiving Page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/birthandbabies

Laura’s Story – Giving Birth in a Midwife Led Unit

The fundraising appeal in more detail can be read here.

If you have any questions about this centre please feel free to comment below and we will answer them as quickly as possible.

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COME AND GET INVOLVED AND HELP US MAKE A DIFFERENCE