Maternity Services
Important changes to our Maternity Services
- For pregnant people - your birth partner can accompany you to all your appointments including your scans and throughout your labour.
- Visiting has returned to pre-covid arrangements. Which is between 8am-8pm for birth partners and siblings and 3pm-8pm for 2 other visitors .
If a visitor or support partner has a positive test or are displaying symptoms of COVID-19 they are asked to remain at home. Face masks are still to be worn. Please continue to use hand gels or wash hands, as appropriate.If you have any concerns, please speak to your midwife.
Guidance is subject to change depending on local levels of COVID-19 infections.
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.
Changes to the way we are working during Coronavirus
As a consequence of the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic we
have needed to implement some changes to the way we are working, and
how we provide your care to you, in order to keep you, other families
and our staff as safe as possible. Please be assured that the safety
of you and your baby is of paramount importance to us, and therefore
all changes have been made after reviewing the best and most recent
guidance from Public Health England and the Royal College of
Obstetricians & Gynaecologists.
It is really important that you continue to read Government advice,
as the picture is very fluid and changing frequently as new
information is learnt about Covid-19. The guidance we offer you is
therefore open to change on a frequent basis. The most current
information can be found online from the Royal College
of Obstetricians.
All members of the maternity services team within the community and
the hospital are keeping their knowledge regarding guidance for
pregnancy care during the pandemic very current, so if you have any
questions about your care, please discuss them with your midwife or obstetrician.
It remains really important that if you have any concerns during
your pregnancy (such as stomach pains, bleeding, reduced/changed
movements) you don’t hesitate in contacting our Delivery Suite. You
should also contact the Delivery Suite if you feel your labour has
started. The midwives will be able to guide you as to when to come
into hospital.
We understand that you may be worried about the impact of
coronavirus on your pregnancy and your access to healthcare and have
therefore provided information videos relating to aspects of your
pregnancy and birth to enhance the information verbally provided to
you by the midwifery team.
We would like to reassure you that we will continue to provide you
with the best care and support during these unprecedented times.
Maternity leaflets to help you during the Coronavirus pandemic
Useful Information
Maternity Unit Tour (YouTube Video)
How our staff will be protecting you and themselves (YouTube Video)
Don't wait to see how you feel tomorrow (YouTube Video) - If you feel something isn't right please contact your midwife, don't wait to see how you feel tomorrow.