All NHS North Central London maternity services provide a birth reflections clinic where you can discuss with a midwife your experiences of birth, particularly if you have had a traumatic event during or after birth.
Some things to think about before you attend a birth reflections clinic appointment can be found below.
Write down any significant concerns (medical, emotional or other) about your experience of pregnancy, labour, birth and immediately after birth – particularly if you think it could have an effect on your long-term physical or emotional health, or the health of your baby. Share your concerns with your midwife or doctor.
North Middlesex University Hospital: There is a Birth Reflections clinic at the North Middlesex.
Information about all our specialist maternity clinics:
University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
UCLH has an official charity supporting patients, staff and research at University College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Foundation Trust. We focus on four main areas; supporting patient care, training and developing staff, environment and equipment and advancing research.
Our maternity website in North Central London where you can give us your feedback is: www.nclmaternity.nhs.uk
You can give feedback on the website by using the “Contact us” tab at the purple menu bar near the top of the page.
We also have links to the local service user groups, called Maternity Voices Partnership of which there are four in NCL – the link can be found at the bottom of the page in the section:
If you are a maternity service user and would like to get involved in shaping local maternity services, please visit our page: NCL Maternity Voice Partnerships
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University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
The UCLH Maternity Voices Partnership (MVP) is a team of women and their families, commissioners and providers (midwives and doctors) working together to review and contribute to the development of local maternity care.
We have meetings six times a year and facilitate opportunities for users of the maternity service to help shape the unit to work for them and future families.
We want to ensure that every woman on the maternity pathway has a chance to have her voice heard about the service she is receiving through our MVP.
We would love to have you join or just give us feedback on your experience at UCLH – let us know of good experiences that you have had an any areas that you think the trust could improve upon.
This app, originally developed by North West London Local Maternity System, has been adapted for use in North Central London Local Maternity & Neonatal System.
If you live outside of North Central London, you can still use this app’s content and develop your personal care plans. To find your nearest unit follow this link:
National maternal and neonatal programmes in North Central London
We have the following neonatal services in North Central London:
• 1 x level 3 neonatal intensive care unit
• 4 x level 2 high dependency units
• 5 x level 1 special care units
The Maternal and Neonatal Safety Improvement Programme (MATNEOSIP)
A programme to support improvement in the quality and safety of maternity and neonatal units across England – formerly known as the Maternal and Neonatal Health Safety Collaborative.
The programme aims to:
• improve the safety and outcomes of maternal and neonatal care by reducing unwarranted variation and provide a high quality healthcare experience for all women, babies and families across maternity and neonatal care settings in England
• contribute to the national ambition, set out in Better Births of reducing the rates of maternal and neonatal deaths, stillbirths, and brain injuries that occur during or soon after birth by 50% by 2025.
The five priorities in North Central London are:
• Increase the proportion of smoke-free pregnancies.
• Optimisation and stabilisation of the very preterm infant.
• Detection and management of diabetes in pregnancy.
• Detection and management of neonatal hypoglycaemia.
• Early recognition and management of deterioration during labour and early post-partum period.
PReCePT (Prevention of Cerebral Palsy in Preterm Labour)
The PReCePT programme aims to reduce the incidence of cerebral palsy in babies born prematurely by giving women a medication called magnesium sulphate during labour. This programme is being rolled out across North Central London and other activities include improving care, strengthening staff capability across maternal and neonatal units and supporting mothers to become more involved with their care to improve quality of life of preterm babies and their families.
Reducing the incidence of cerebral palsy by offering magnesium sulphate to all eligible women in England during preterm labour (less than 30 weeks).
For every 37 mothers who receive magnesium sulphate, we can prevent one case of cerebral palsy. It is used in at least 80% of this cohort of women across North Central London.
Regular audits of the use of magnesium sulphate are carried out across North Central London. In collaboration with UCL Partners we are undertaking regular learning and sharing events and safety culture surveys.
You can choose to have your baby in a private hospital. Find more information about private maternity units and locate specific private maternity units here.
Private maternity service within an NHS facility in your region
Private rooms
All hospitals in North Central London have the option of private rooms for after the birth, and these vary in cost. You can ask your midwife or doctor about this and information is provided within the directory of services.
Research is used to build new knowledge, improve current care and develop new treatments. The National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network (often referred to as CRN) provide the infrastructure that allows high-quality clinical research to take place in the NHS.
The Women’s Health department at UCLH are committed to improving outcomes for women and babies by improving care, diagnosis and treatment within obstetrics and gynaecology. A small team of research midwives and nurses work on an extensive portfolio of CRN funded research studies that cover specialised areas including maternity, gynaecology, neonatal care, fertility, genetics, miscarriage, urogynaecology and cancer.
UCLH is a large teaching hospital and has many research projects underway at any one time. Whilst under our care you are likely to be invited to participate in a research project by healthcare professionals. This may be one of our consultants, nurses or midwives.
Alternatively, if you are interested in volunteering for any of our studies or just would like to have some more information please contact us:
For support with quitting smoking, please discuss with your maternity team in North Central London who can refer you to the specialist smoking cessation midwife and service locally which are located at:
Elizabeth Garret Anderson unit at University College London Hospitals (UCLH), Camden
Barnet Hospital, Barnet
Royal Free, Hampstead
North Middlesex Hospital, Edmonton
Whittington Hospital, Archway
For support with quitting smoking, please discuss with your maternity team in North Central London who can refer you to the specialist smoking cessation midwife and service locally which are located at:
Elizabeth Garret Anderson unit at University College London Hospitals (UCLH), Camden
Barnet Hospital, Barnet
Royal Free, Hampstead
North Middlesex Hospital, Edmonton
Whittington Hospital, Archway
Talking therapy services or IAPT services are offered throughout North Central London, and in every London borough, providing support to those experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression. Priority is given to pregnant women and new parents. You can either self-refer over the phone or online, or ask your midwife or GP to do it for you. The service is free and aims to be flexible around your needs.
Talking therapy/IAPT contact details in North Central London:
Better Births, Improving Outcomes of Maternity Services in England (2016) set out a vision for maternity services across England to deliver safer, personalised care for women with maternity staff supported to deliver care which is women centred, in cultures which promote innovation, continuous learning, and break down organisational and professional boundaries. North Central London was an ‘early adopter’ of the national maternity transformation plan ‘Better Births’ and had an ambitious transformation plan which sought to improve the safety, personalisation and quality of care.
Tommy’s provide excellent information and resources if you feel that your baby is not moving as you would expect. Follow this link and see the related links below it:
You will meet several midwives throughout your pregnancy, birth and beyond. Midwives are the main caregiver when your pregnancy and birth are straight forward. In North West London we are working hard to ensure each woman has a named midwife who is responsible for coordinating your maternity care.
Obstetrician
These are doctors who specialise in caring for women during pregnancy, birth and in the period immediately after birth (whilst in the maternity unit). You may see an obstetrician during pregnancy if you have any issues which require review or more specialised management and they will be involved if you have a caesarean or assisted birth.
Paediatrician/Neonatalogist(baby doctor)
Paediatricians or neonatologists are doctors specialising in the care of newborn babies and children. They will be involved in your care if early (premature) delivery is anticipated or if there are likely to be concerns about the health of your baby during or after the birth.
Sonographer
These are professionals who undertake your ultrasound scans. They are specially trained to undertake scans during pregnancy.
Maternity support worker
You may meet maternity support workers during pregnancy, birth or beyond. They support the maternity team and provide some of your care throughout the journey.
Student midwife
Maternity units in North West London work closely with local universities to support midwives and doctors in training. These students will work alongside their midwife ‘mentor’ and will ask for your consent before providing you with any care.
Health visitor
Health visitors work in teams. They work closely with the other professionals listed above, including GPs and organisations that support families where you live. Most families in England will be offered several review contacts and additional support depending on the individual needs of your family.The health promoting visit at 28 weeks of pregnancy is the first time that the health visitor meets parents. A health needs assessment will be agreed, covering physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing. The health visitor will also discuss a number of issues, including transition to parenthood, how to enhance the parent-child bonding experience and how parents can help their baby’s early development.
Other staff members
You may meet other members of staff or medical students, depending on your pregnancy needs and where you choose to have your care.
Our objective
Within North Central London our objective for maternity services is to fully meet the requirements of the Better Births recommendations, ensuring safe care and an improved experience for women and their families throughout their maternity pathway.
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