East Herts Midwives

https://www.pah.nhs.uk/pregnant-what-next

Pregnant, what next? Once you have found out that you are pregnant, please get in touch with our maternity team as soon as possible to book your first appointment.

Babies born preterm, especially those born extremely preterm between 22- 27 weeks need very specialised care.

It is important that you can recognise the signs of preterm labour.

Please contact your maternity team if you have any concerns or feel that you may be going into preterm labour.

Considering a homebirth speak with your midwife next time you see them.

All newborn babies are offered a hearing test that identifies the very few babies (one/two in 1000 babies) with hearing loss in one or both ears. Having this test early provides prompt access to services to improve long term child development, should they be needed.

Your baby may have their newborn hearing screen in the maternity unit before you go home. However, if your baby missed this screening in the maternity unit, was born at home or requires a follow up screen, you will be sent an appointment to attend your local baby hearing screening clinic within the first month after birth.

You can find more information on the NHS website at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/newborn-screening/hearing-test/

Has your baby been cared for in one of the neonatal units at the Lister, Watford General or The Princess Alexandra Hospitals?

If so, we would love to hear about your experience. Sharing your thoughts and feedback with us will help us to improve the neonatal care experience for future families across Hertfordshire and West Essex.

Complete the short survey at https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/NeonatalParentSurvey/

Screening tests for you and your baby | NHS This video shows which tests are available during pregnancy and after your baby has been born. Screening tests are always a choice. Find out which tests are ...

Please visit the Tommy’s website if you would like to view this information in other languages.

It's common to feel , or even exhausted, during , especially in the first 12 weeks.

Hormonal changes at this time can make you feel tired, nauseous and emotional. The only answer is to rest as much as possible.

Make time to sit with your feet up during the day and accept any offers of help from colleagues and family. Make sure you eat a healthy diet, and get plenty of rest and sleep.

Later in pregnancy, you may feel tired because of the extra weight you're carrying. As your bump gets bigger, it can be difficult to get a good night's sleep. You might find that lying down is uncomfortable or that you need to use the loo a lot.

Feeling tired will not harm you or your , but it can make life feel more difficult, especially in the early days before you've told people about your pregnancy.

You can find more information on the NHS website at https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/related-conditions/common-symptoms/tired

Are you ? Do you have issues or areas of concern with your pelvic floor, bowel and/or bladder?

Being pregnant and having a baby has many challenges both physically and emotionally, these can be worsened if you are experiencing complications with your bladder and/or bowel because of pregnancy or .

A new enhanced perinatal pelvic health service is available in Herts and West Essex. It will provide pelvic health support to women/birthing people during pregnancy and up to one-year postnatally.

For more information or to be referred to the service, contact your midwife or local service at:
East and North Hertfordshire: [email protected]
West Hertfordshire: [email protected]
The Princess Alexandra: [email protected]

We are open all over the bank holiday so don't hesitate to seek advice.

Your Maternity Unit is open 24/7. If you have any concerns about your baby or pregnancy this Bank Holiday weekend, there is always someone there to give you advice. Do NOT wait until Tuesday after the Bank Holiday, do NOT wait until your next appointment.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Listen to your body, your baby and your instinct. If you have ANY symptoms that worry you, pick up the phone - day or night.

We are pleased to update that we can now offer gas and air to women and pregnant people in nine of the birthing rooms on our Labour Ward and all of our Birth Centre as well. You can read more here: http://ow.ly/95cM50NRlae

Have your voice heard!

A Maternity Voices Partnership (MVP) is an independent working group of women, birthing people and their families, commissioners and maternity service staff working together to improve local maternity and neonatal care.
The Hertfordshire and West Essex Local Maternity and Neonatal System (LMNS) works with three local Maternity Voices Partnership groups, Lister, West Herts and West Essex. We are actively looking for members to join the MVP groups to help review, develop and co-produce local maternity and neonatal care. They meet regularly to share information and updates and to collect feedback from service users around their maternity and neonatal experiences.

Any involvement great or small is appreciated and could involve meeting service users, engaging online or through a WhatsApp group, sharing ideas about improving or working on particular projects with hospital staff etc.

If you would be interested in joining or for more information, please contact:
• Lister Stevenage Maternity Voices Partnership - which covers Lister Hospital - [email protected]
• Maternity Voices Partnership, West Hertfordshire – which covers Watford General Hospital - [email protected]
• West Essex MVP - which covers The Princess Alexandra Hospital - [email protected]

A caesarean is a major operation that does carry some risks for you and the baby. If you ask your midwife or doctor for a caesarean when there are no medical reasons, they'll explain the overall benefits and risks to you and your baby compared with a vaginal birth so you can make an informed choice.

If you're anxious about giving birth, you should be offered the chance to discuss your anxiety with a healthcare professional who can offer support during your pregnancy and labour.

You can find more information on the Mum & Baby App, the NHS website at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/caesarean-section/ and on the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists website at https://www.rcog.org.uk/for-the-public/browse-all-patient-information-leaflets/choosing-to-have-a-caesarean-section/

Did you know you can build a relationship with your baby ante and postnatally?

Building a relationship with your baby can take time however you can start to build a relationship with them antenatally while they are still in the womb.

Please read our latest update relating to gas and air within our maternity department: http://ow.ly/cIw450NC59E

We are thrilled to share this update just received from The Princess Alexandra Hospital

We are pleased to let you know that we now have additional temporary gas and air units in four birth rooms (4; 7; 8 and 9 in the Labour Ward) and two spaces in the birth rooms (Bluebell and Waterlily in the Birth Centre) available to pregnant women and birthing people.



This means a total of six spaces where gas and air is available, which is good news. The works continue and we will update you as further spaces are completed.



Also, as already mentioned, we have a maternity helpline on 07932 524480 that is open from 10am-3pm for anyone, due to give birth, to ask any questions they have about gas and air. It would be helpful if you could share this number with women and people.

UPDATE RE MASKS

Masks are no longer required when visiting Princess Alexandra Hospital. If you still wish to wear your mask you are of course welcome too. 😷