Local Neonatal Unit

Kettering Local Neonatal Unit

Assurances to our pregnant women during the pandemic

If you develop COVID during your pregnancy please notify your midwife as additional care planning may be required.

Please be assured that we will continue to support partners attending scans and births during this time.

To do this, Maternity and Gynaecology services have created space within their ward areas to accommodate both Covid negative women (those with no symptoms or from asymptomatic households/contact) and Covid positive or women suspected of having Covid (those with symptoms, from symptomatic households or who have had confirmation by swab).

Women will be signposted to the appropriate area on the ward upon admission or during their stay in the Rockingham Wing.

We will continue to screen all persons entering the ward area for symptoms of Covid, including temperature checking.

It is vitally important that our maternity and gynaecology services are notified if a woman or her birth partner have any Covid related symptoms prior to admission. We respectfully ask that this is done in all cases to protect other patients and staff. Regrettably for reasons of safety any partners from symptomatic households will not be able to attend and should self-isolate as directed by Government instructions.

If you are COVID positive during your stay you will be asked to wear a face mask other than when in active labour. Staff looking after you will also be wearing masks and other protective clothing.

Important Information: The use of face coverings and gloves when coming to into hospital

People infected with COVID-19 can have very mild or no respiratory symptoms (asymptomatic) and can transmit the virus to others without being aware of it.

Following recommendations from the World Health organisation, and in line with UK government guidance, on Monday 15 June 2020 new measures were introduced at KGH to keep visitors, patients and staff safe; the need to wear a face covering at all times inside our hospital. To find out more.

On Monday 19th July 2021, some restrictions changed in England however the hospital still requires visitors and staff to wear face coverings.

Please remove your gloves - Good hand hygiene is one of the keys to defeating Coronavirus

If you are wearing gloves when attending our clinics you will be asked to remove them
We will ask that you wash your hands with soap or sanitiser
You may sanitise your hands and reapply your gloves before you leave

Maternity leaflets to help you during the Coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirus: Looking after yourself and your baby in pregnancy

Coronavirus: Planning your birth

Coronavirus: Parent information for newborn babies

Coronavirus: Do you have concerns about your pregnancy or maternity care on account of your ethnicity? We are here to support you.

We as the team at Kettering are here to support you, to care for your baby and very much encourage you to be a part of decisions made for him/her. This page can help provide you with the necessary resources you will require.

As a Local Neonatal Unit we care for preterm infants from 27 weeks gestation for singletons and from 28 weeks gestation for twins and infants more than 800g. We are part of the East Midlands Neonatal Operational Development Network (EMNODN) and babies outside our admission criteria are transferred to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU); Leicester Royal Infirmary, Nottingham City Hospital or Queen's Medical Centre Nottingham who are within our network for further specialist care and returned to Kettering once they are stable enough to do so.