Postnatal

If you have your baby at home, your midwives will stay with you until they are confident that it is safe for them to leave. This is normally within two to four hours following delivery. Your community midwife will then take over with your post-natal care.

If you have your baby in our Midwifery Led Birthing Centre (MLBC), you will receive post-natal care in the same room you gave birth in. Unless you have your baby in our birthing pool, in which case we will move you into another private room with en-suite facilities.

How well you recover and the health and wellbeing of both you and your baby, will determine how long you stay with us. If you have a straight-forward birth with no complications, you may be able to go home six hours after you give birth. Sometimes we prefer that you to stay a little longer, just so we can keep an eye on you and your baby to make sure you’re both doing well.

Your midwife will chat to you about this after you have had your baby, but please ask any questions at any point whilst at our MLBC. Once you’re able to go home, you will then be seen by your community midwife for the rest of your post-natal care. They will come and visit you and your baby at home, the day after you are discharged.

Important Notice

Due to ongoing building works at SRH with Antenatal and Postnatal environments, we are currently using a bay on our Gynacology ward opposite the maternity department. This ward is used for low risk postnatal women prior to discharge.

If you have your baby in our Consultant-Led Maternity Unit, you will be transferred to the post natal ward following the birth of your baby. There are also facilities for you and your partner/visitors to make refreshments in our patient dining room.

How well you recover and the health and wellbeing of both you and your baby, will determine how long you stay with us. If you have a straight-forward birth with no complications, you may be able to go home six hours after you give birth. Sometimes we prefer that you to stay a little longer, just so we can keep an eye on you and your baby to make sure you’re both doing well.

Your midwife will chat to you about this after you have had your baby, but please ask any questions at any point whilst at our Consultant-Led Maternity Unit. 

Once you’re able to go home, you will then be seen by your community midwife for the rest of your post-natal care. They will come and visit you and your baby at home, the day after you are discharged.

Before you head home from our Midwifery-Led Birthing Centre or our Consultant-Led Maternity Unit, our midwives will agree a plan with you for visits at home. They will visit you from the day after your baby is born, until your baby is around ten days old. This is to check that you and your baby are doing well and to support you within the first week of having your baby.

During your home visit, your midwife will check you're recovering well after the birth of your baby. They will feel your tummy, and take your temperature, pulse and blood pressure. They will also check the health and wellbeing of your baby.
 

We’re really passionate about making sure the care we give to you and your baby is supportive, family-centred and non-judgmental. This includes feeding your baby. We appreciate and understand that how you feed your baby is a very personal choice. You will be given lots of support whichever method you choose. 

Sometimes, new families make choices about feeding without enough information, but would make a different choice if they had more facts. This is what we call informed choice. There are many health professionals within our maternity team who will be able to provide you with lots of information and answer any questions that you may have about feeding your baby.

Breastfeeding
We fully support all families to choose how they wish to feed their baby. If you’ve attended our antenatal classes and have an idea about breastfeeding, then great. If you haven’t don’t worry. To make sure you get your breastfeeding journey off to right best start, we’ll be there to support you every step of the way. This will help you to make sure both you and your baby get all of the benefits of breastfeeding, and support your growing bond.

You can always chat to your midwife both before and after you have your baby, if you have any questions or queries about breastfeeding your baby. The UNICEF website also has some useful information that you may wish to read.

Listen to our World Breastfeeding Week podcast here.

Responsive bottle feeding
We fully support all families to choose how they wish to feed their baby.  If you decide to bottle feed your baby, we will be there for you whenever you may need us, and provide any assistance that you or your baby may need. It’s really important that formula feeds are sterilised correctly, made up safely at the right time. The UNICEF website provides a handy guide to preparing formula and sterilising bottles. 

Keeping your baby close and responding to feeding cues helps build a relationship with your baby. We recommend parents feed their baby’s themselves during the first few weeks. This helps to build a strong bond and ensures baby feels relaxed and secure.

It is important that bottles are sterilised and made up safely at the right time.  Powdered formula is not sterile and needs to be made up at the right temperature, which will kill any potential bacteria.

You can always chat to your midwife both before and after you have your baby, if you have any questions or queries about bottle feeding your baby. The UNICEF website also has some useful information that you may wish to read.

A children's doctor (paediatrician), midwife or newborn nurse (neonatal) will check your babys health and wellbeing, and give them a newborn physical examination within 72 hours of being born. Between days five and eight after the birth, you'll be offered the blood spot (heel prick) test for your baby. Your midwife will also check your baby for signs of:

• Jaundice (common and harmless yellowing of the skin)
• Infection of the umbilical cord or eyes
• Thrush in the mouth

If you have been to any of our antenatal classes, you’ll be aware of safe sleeping for your baby. If not, don’t worry – our maternity team will speak to you before you and your baby leave  our birthing centre or maternity unit. It’s important that you know how to put your baby to sleep safely. The Lullaby Trust website has some helpful information and advice for safe sleeping.