Published on: 16 August 2019
Midwives at Sunderland Royal Hospital have welcomed the first South Shields babies to be born in Sunderland since the introduction of a new model of maternity services.
Women from South Tyneside who have a high risk pregnancy are advised to give birth in the Trust’s consultant-led unit at Sunderland Royal Hospital, which is rated amongst the best in the NHS.
This was the case for South Shields mam and dad, Claire and Lee Habicht, who welcomed their baby boy Archie at 8:52pm on Wednesday 14 August.
Archie is Claire and Lee’s second baby and he joins big brother Oscar, 4.
Claire, 32, explained: “I wanted to give birth at South Tyneside, as I had previously but this pregnancy was high risk so I was advised to give birth at Sunderland.
“All of my other maternity care and antenatal appointments took place at South Tyneside, which is where they spotted the problem.
“I’d gone in for a routine blood pressure check and I wanted to check that everything was ok as I hadn’t felt a lot of movement. I was hooked up to a monitor straight away and they noticed that my baby’s heart rate was high.
“Within minutes the paramedics arrived and I was blue lighted to Sunderland Royal Hospital with a midwife from South Tyneside. I was taken straight to the delivery suite where a consultant and a midwife were waiting to check me over.
“Everything just happened so quickly but I was made to feel completely at ease and I felt safe.”
Baby Archie, weighing only 4lb 15oz was born five weeks and five days early, 8 hours after Claire attended her check-up at South Tyneside District Hospital.
She said: “Everything happened so quickly, from the midwives in South Tyneside spotting the problem, to the paramedics arriving and the ambulance journey to Sunderland, to actual delivery. Everything just fell into place, there was no waiting around.
“I really didn’t want to give birth in Sunderland, but since being here my opinion has completely changed. The midwives were absolutely fabulous and I can’t praise them enough.
“It doesn’t bother me that Archie was born in Sunderland, as long as he is safe and healthy it really doesn’t matter where he was born.”
Similarly, South Shields couple Harmanjeet Kaur, 25 and Harkirat Singh 32, also had a high risk pregnancy and also welcomed their baby boy at Sunderland Royal Hospital on Wednesday 14 August.
Proud mum Harmanjeet, said: “I really wanted to give birth in South Tyneside as it was familiar having had all my antenatal care there, but I knew I couldn’t being high risk.
“I’d never even been to Sunderland hospital before, but the staff have been really nice and they have gone out of their way to help us.”
Proud father Harkirat added: “We have been assisted whenever we needed and the midwives are always around checking on you to make sure you’re ok. We can’t fault them.”
Harmanjeet and Harkirat Singh welcomed their baby boy at 6.00pm on Wednesday evening weighing exactly 6lb. The couple are still deciding on a name.
Sheila Ford, Head of Midwifery at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are delighted to welcome the first babies from South Shields to Sunderland Royal Hospital since we went live with our new maternity service.
“Our teams across both sites have had an exceptionally busy time both leading up to the changes on 5 August and over the past few weeks and it is fantastic to see the new model of maternity care already working so well.
“Claire was the first lady to be safely transferred from South Tyneside to Sunderland and the arrangements we have put in place with North East Ambulance Service worked very well with a very quick response.
“Pregnant women across South Tyneside and Sunderland can be absolutely reassured that they are in very safe hands whether they are low risk or high risk and whether they choose to give birth in our new midwifery-led birthing centre or our consultant-led maternity unit.
“Our teams are highly skilled professionals who provide first class care and support and have vast experience of safely bringing babies into the world every single day.”
For more information about maternity services in South Tyneside and Sunderland visit www.stsft.nhs.uk or contact the numbers below to arrange a visit:
- 0191 4041033 – Midwifery-led birthing centre, South Tyneside District Hospital
- 0191 569 9777 – Consultant-led maternity unit, Sunderland Royal Hospital
