Our maternity website in North Central London where you can give us your feedback is: www.nclmaternity.nhs.ukYou 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 in the link below.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 Partnership.
Our expert maternity team will tailor our care to your needs. Our website and information on this app will provide you with information on what to expect if you choose to have your baby with us.
At the Whittington Hospital we are here for you from the very start the very end of your pregnancy journey. Our maternity unit is at the forefront of innovation. This includes partners staying overnight, enhanced recovery, midwifery-led induction of labour and normalising birth. Our team will guide and support you through this exciting time in your life.
We tailor maternity care to your individual needs, from your first antenatal appointment with a midwife
through to our midwives and health visitors seeing you and your baby at home after birth. This coordinated approach means that you will only have one care record with our Trust, which will enable you to enjoy a smoother journey of care during your pregnancy and beyond.
Once we have received your referral, you’ll be offered a series of appointments with a midwife. Most of your care will be provided by midwives in the community. If you have an intermediate or high-risk pregnancy our team of highly skilled obstetricians are here for you. During your pregnancy our midwives will check that you and your baby are well, give you useful information to help you have a healthy pregnancy (including healthy eating and exercise advice) and answer any questions you may have.
Our antenatal services include:
• Acupuncture
• Antenatal Ward
• Care of your body during pregnancy classes
• Community Midwives
• Maternity Assessment Day Unit
• Obstetric Medicine Clinic
• Parentcraft Classes
• Early Pregnancy Unit / Women’s Diagnostic Unit
Video tour of Whittington Hospital Maternity services
Our specialist services include
Our experienced Midwives and Obstetric consultants and specialised midwives provide excellent care for women with complicated pregnancies.
These specialist antenatal clinics/services include:
• FGM Service
• Antenatal Diabetes Clinic
• Fetal Medicine Service
• Safeguarding
• Twin Clinic
• Vaginal Birth After Caesarean Section (VBAC)
• Obstetrics, Weight and Nutrition (OWN)
• Interpreting
• Whooping Cough and Flu Vaccine Service
• Maternity Acupuncture Service
At Whittington Health Maternity Service you will receive screening tests during your maternity pathway. Watch this video for details:
"We are committed to delivering top-quality patient care, excellent education and world class research."
At University College London Hospital, the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (EGA) Wing provides comprehensive, high quality care with the latest technology for women and their babies in the areas of gynaecology, maternity and neonatal care. Maternity services offer access to a full range of care options in different settings including home birth, community care, a co-located birth centre and our labour ward with a highly skilled team of midwives and obstetricians – and two dedicated theatres. The gynaecology service offers both inpatients and outpatients care, whilst the level 3 neonatal unit ensures the safest and highest quality care for babies born with us and from across London.
University College London Hospital maternity services virtual tour
Our specialist services include
Fetal medicine, maternal medicine and various maternity specialities to provide high quality care for women and their babies.
Fetal Medicine
Level 3 Neonatal Unit:
Our neonatal service is a recognised centre of excellence caring for acutely ill and preterm babies from our local area and beyond. We are the only level 3 neonatal unit in the area, which means we offer the highest level of intensive care to very ill babies, including a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
The Neonatal Unit provides 24-hour care for premature and sick babies. It is divided into three areas:
1. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) – provides support for babies with breathing problems and other specialist treatment needs.
2. High Dependency Unit (HDU) – provides support for babies who require less intensive care than babies in NICU, but are still not stable enough for care in the SCBU
3. Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) – provides support for babies who need tube feeding, additional oxygen support and light therapy (phototherapy)
Multiple Pregnancy Service
Speciality in the management of twin to twin transfusion syndrome in monochorionic twins; using fetoscopic laser ablation to placental vessels and has referral from all over the UK.
Fetal Medicine Unit provides a comprehensive service throughout pregnancy in the diagnosis and management of all fetal conditions. Our neonatal service is a recognised centre of excellence and our close relationship with Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children allow us to offer unrivalled antenatal and postnatal care in:
• High risk pregnancies
• Prevention of Preterm birth
• Invasive prenatal diagnosis
• Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT)
• Fetal therapy and surgeries
• Fetal Cardiac anomalies
• Down’s syndrome screening
• Early diagnosis of fetal abnormalities
• Spina bifida open fetal surgery
• Spina bifida surgery in the womb – ONLY done at UCLH
Maternal Medicine
Midwifery specialist services available at UCLH:
• Diabetes specialist
• Infant feeding specialists
• Peri-natal mental health
• Fear of Birth Clinics
• Safeguarding
• Bereavement
• Infectious diseases specialist
• Research midwives
At UCLH, we strive to provide top quality care to all our women and babies. In addition to our specialist care service, we provide care for other complex matters in pregnancy. Some of this are as follows:
• Body Mass Index during pregnancy
• Language barrier – where your first language is not English
• Planning a vaginal delivery after a caesarean section
• Peri-natal loss
• Care and long term management of third and fourth degree tears
• IVF pregnancies
• Previously undergone bariatric surgery
• Pre-eclampsia
• Chronic Histiocytic Intervillositis (CHI)
• Haematology issues
At UCLHl you will receive screening tests during your maternity pathway. Watch this video for details:
Buses 14, 24, 73, 134 and 390 serve Tottenham Court Road north and southbound. The 73 (toward Oxford Circus) and the 390 (to Victoria) will stop outside University College Hospital on Euston Road.
Nearest tube stations are:
Warren Street (Northern / Victoria Lines)
Euston Square (Circle / Hammersmith & City / Metropolitan Lines)
Parking
University College Hospital does not have a designated car parking other than for patients with Blue Badges who are attending hospital outpatient appointments, day cases and the Emergency Department. However, we do have surrounding areas with car parking spaces through this link:
If you are driving to UCLH please be aware that most of our hospitals are within the congestion charge and the ultra low emissions zones. Find out more on the TFL website:
Congestion chargeUltra low emission zoneFor information on reclaiming the Congestion Charge click here.
For information on reclaiming the ULEZ charge click here.
"We are really pleased that you’re considering having your baby at North Middlesex University Hospital. Our expert maternity team will tailor our care to your needs."
Our expert maternity team will tailor our care to your needs. Our website and information on this app will provide you with information on what to expect if you choose to have your baby with us.
North Middlesex University Hospital maternity unit tour
Our specialist services include
Antenatal clinic for women who decline blood or blood product in pregnancy including Jehovah’s witnesses
Anaesthetic pre-assessment clinic
Birth Reflection unit
Birth options/ Complex Pregnancies requiring midwifery input/ Perinatal mental Health, Tokophobia/ Requesting birth out of guidance/ Maternal request for ELCS-no fetal or fetal co-morbidities
"Our vision is to ensure that women and their families are provided with excellence in maternity care, and services that are co-produced with our local MVP (Maternity Voice Partnership) and other service user representatives."
The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is the largest provider of maternity services in the North Central London sector. We are proud to provide supportive, personalised and high-quality maternity care to more than 10,000 women living in and around Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey, Hertfordshire, Islington and Middlesex. We offer maternity care from several hospitals and community hubs. Our two main maternity hospitals are Barnet Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital. We also provide maternity services at Chase Farm Hospital, Edgware Community Hospital, Finchley Memorial Hospital and a range of health centres, GP practices, Children’s and Family Centres and other community locations. We are proud to be able to offer a number of birth place options supporting women who choose to birth at home, in our Barnet and Heath alongside birth centres, the freestanding Edgware Birth Centre, as well as in our consultant-led services on both our Barnet and Hampstead sites.
You can self-refer to the Edgware Birth Centre using the online self-referral form for the Royal Free Hospital. The Edgware Birth Centre is part of the Royal Free group of hospitals.
"Our vision is to ensure that women and their families are provided with excellence in maternity care, and services that are co-produced with our local MVP (Maternity Voice Partnership) and other service user representatives."
Edgware Birth Centre offers you a relaxed and friendly environment for the birth of your baby.
Why give birth in the Edgware Birth Centre?
The right support and environment can make a huge difference to your and your baby’s experience of labour and birth. Opened in 1997, the Edgware Birth Centre offers a friendly ‘home from home’ environment, run by midwives and midwifery assistants.
If your pregnancy has been straightforward and there is no reason to think that you or your baby are likely to need medical support during labour or after the birth, or if you wish to have a more personalised birth plan, then the Edgware Birth Centre could be a good choice for you. It is suitable for women who expect to have an uncomplicated pregnancy and who go into labour between 37 and 42 weeks.
Our aim is for all of our mums to have a safe, positive and confident experience of pregnancy, labour and childbirth and we work hard to make this happen.
Advantages of birthing in a standalone midwifery-led setting:
• You are more likely to have a normal birth
• You are less likely to need intervention
• You are less likely to have vaginal or perineal tears
• You are more likely to be satisfied with your care
• You are less likely to need pain relieving drugs for labour
Considerations when using a birth centre:
Women who come to the birth centre are usually in good health so there is no reason to expect a problem during birth. Midwives are trained to detect if labour is not progressing as well as it should and to make sure you and your baby are safe. Our figures show that around 70% of first time mothers and more than 90% of second time mothers using a birth centre give birth without needing any medical care.
If medical help is necessary, or you decide you would like an epidural, you will be transferred to Barnet Hospital by ambulance, accompanied by your midwife. The journey is approximately 10 minutes.
Extra emergency equipment is kept in the birth centre, should unforeseen problems arise for a woman or baby. Staff receive regular training to deal with such situation.
Further information on birth centres is available on the following websites:
Antenatal workshops including infant feeding, active birth and caring for your baby
Five en-suite birth rooms/postnatal bedrooms where you and your partner will usually be able to remain for the duration of your stay
Three birthing pools for you to labour and give birth in to help as a: form of pain relief (70% of women who have their babies in the birth centre use water at some stage in their labour)
Birth stools to help you with an upright birth, as well as bean bags and birth balls
Water births:A birth pool provides the perfect private nest for you to labour in, with the support and warmth of the water helping women through labour.Labouring in water may help the body to release less of the stress hormone adrenaline and more of the labour hormone oxytocin. This stimulates the labour contractions to be strong and regular. Your body may also release more endorphins, the hormones that help you cope with contractions.As well as helping women cope with the pain of childbirth, water births also seem to offer babies a more peaceful journey from the uterus (womb) into their mums’ arms. Babies are bathed in warm water as they emerge from the birth canal, and the pool environment feels similar to the uterus.At Edgware Birth Centre you will receive screening tests during your maternity pathway. Watch this video for details:
"Our vision is to ensure that women and their families are provided with excellence in maternity care, and services that are co-produced with our local MVP (Maternity Voice Partnership) and other service user representatives."
The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is the largest provider of maternity services in the North Central London sector. We are proud to provide supportive, personalised and high-quality maternity care to more than 10,000 women living in and around Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey, Hertfordshire, Islington and Middlesex. We offer maternity care from several hospitals and community hubs. Our two main maternity hospitals are Barnet Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital. We also provide maternity services at Chase Farm Hospital, Edgware Community Hospital, Finchley Memorial Hospital and a range of health centres, GP practices, Children’s and Family Centres and other community locations. We are proud to be able to offer a number of birth place options supporting women who choose to birth at home, in our Barnet and Heath alongside birth centres, the freestanding Edgware Birth Centre, as well as in our consultant-led services on both our Barnet and Hampstead sites.
How to use the personalised care and support plans
Personalised care and support plans help you to explore, understand and record your individual choices for pregnancy, birth and early parenthood.As you work your way through the personalised care and support plans, refer to the revelant sections in the app. You can change your preferences at any time.Your midwife and/or doctor can help you to complete or adapt your personalised care and support plans at any point, and you are encouraged to share your plans and preferences with them throughout pregnancy.It is important to remember that a plan is just that – and that things may need to be reviewed and changed around your needs and the needs of your baby, to ensure care is always high quality and safe.You can print out your personal care and support plan(s) and keep them with your maternity notes, and share them with your maternity team as you wish.
If you have any comments or concerns about this app, or if you would like to make suggestions for additional content please email us at:
mumandbaby.nwl@nhs.netIf you have any issues with the functionality of the app please email:
developer@imagineear.comWe will endeavour to get back to you within 3 working days.
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 in the link below.
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 Partnership. 
