Labour ward

Our labour ward provides multi-speciality, consultant led care for women who have, or who develop, medical problems during their pregnancy or labour, and for whom birthing in an environment with direct access to obstetricians, anaesthetists (who administer epidurals and general anaesthetic) or neonatologists (specialists in newborn care) is recommended.

If you choose to give birth in the labour ward an obstetrician will take primary responsibility for your care but you will still be looked after by a midwife during your labour.

Facilities

Our facilities include:

• 13 birth rooms and one birth pool
• a four-bed induction of labour suite
• a recovery area for women who have had a caesarean section.
• a high dependency unit with specially trained midwives available.

The advantages of giving birth in an obstetric unit include:

• On site access to emergency support including obstetric, anaesthetic and neonatal services. You won’t need to transfer if there are problems.
• Access to other specialist services, such as epidurals and remifentanil for pain relief.

For more information please see our choosing where to have your baby and maternity services guides below.

Visiting hours

There is no visiting allowed on the labour ward, except for birth partners.