The Midwifery Led Unit is a special place created especially for you. It has been created to provide for you a place of comfort, safety and privacy for you to have your baby.

The unit is intimate and small, and is situated on the 1st floor of Bishop Auckland General Hospital.

Each delivery room is very private with en-suite facilities. They have been planned so that you can feel relaxed and "at home" with all your needs catered for. A place where you can have the environment you would wish for the birth of your baby.

We have a lovely Pool Room, a facility that is becoming more and more popular with our mothers. The Pool Room is used for women who wish to labour in water as well as for the delivery of their babies. Some women find they are so comfortable and relaxed in the pool that even if they had not actually planned a waterbirth they do ultimately have one.

Our postnatal rooms have also been designed with your comfort in mind. Most have en-suite facilities, music centres and televisions. They are quite self contained and private, although there is a two-bedded room, which has its own shower and toilet facilities near by.

Partners are also catered for, so that they are able to be with you during labour and after the birth of your baby. The postnatal rooms have a variety of sofa beds and a very comfortable enormous beanbag. The only room that does not have facilities for partners to stay is the two bedded room, but as soon as a single room is available you can be transferred to that room.

We have an "open policy" for visiting of family and friends.

We are sure your stay with us will be a very pleasant and memorable experience, something you will always treasure.

What facilities does the Midwifery Led Unit offer?

The Midwifery Led Unit comprises of:

• Waiting area
• Male / female toilets
• Shower
• Patientline - telephone, email and internet access
• Pay-phone / portable phone
• Water / beverages

Our Philosophy of Care

The Midwifery Led Unit at Bishop Auckland seeks to provide a welcoming, supportive environment for women and their families who would like to give birth on our "home from home setting".

We aim to empower women to enable them to make informed decisions, and our focus will be on normality in birth.

We have a team of highly skilled and dedicated midwives, who offer high quality of care, which is evidence based. The result of this is a centre of excellence in midwifery care.

We want the women we care for to feel safe, supported, confident and totally involved in all aspects of their care, regardless of background, culture or religious beliefs.

Our Midwifery Care

The care we offer begins at your first antenatal appointment, this is usually at the "booking" appointment, and continues through the antenatal period, throughout labour and after you have had your baby. We are now also able to continue your post postnatal care when you go home.

Our "team" of midwives works with the Community Midwives to give you complete care. Our sole purpose is to be there for you, your family and your baby. As Midwives we are your partners, throughout the whole process of having your baby.

As well as your normal care we will be there to support you in every way, emotionally and physically, so that when the time comes for you to have your baby you will be able to do so with confidence.

The word "Midwife" means "with woman" and that is exactly what we are doing. We are there for you.

The Birth of Your Baby

The birth of your baby is a memory you should treasure for the rest of your lives. It is an experience that marks the beginning of your lives as parents. How this takes place is really important, it is an experience that will affect you and your baby for the rest of your lives.

A child brought into this world with love, respect and gentleness has the best start in life and together we can achieve this.

When your labour begins we will be there for you to help and support you in the birth that you want to have.

Our aim is to get to know you from the beginning of your pregnancy so that you, and we as Midwives, will become a "team", not strangers, as is often the case in other maternity units. We will have taught you about how your body has made the changes during your pregnancy to cope with labour. During pregnancy we will encourage you to sit in ways which will help encourage the baby to take up the most efficient position for labour. We may also suggest how you might adapt your lifestyle so that the baby is likely to adopt the best possible position.

During the process of labour you do not need to be confined to a bed, we actively encourage you to be as mobile as you wish. We have birthing balls, beanbags and rocking chairs to ease your positioning during labour and a fantastic pool.

Our whole purpose as Midwives is to be there for you and with you throughout the process of having your baby.

One of the benefits of a Midwifery Led Centre is that we are able to offer you one to one care throughout your labour.

Pain Relief

What methods of pain relief do we offer?

Natural methods:

• Relaxation techniques and music. Please feel free to bring your own music, although we do have a wide selection to offer.
• Freedom to be as mobile as you would like, moving around the unit freely, go for a walk when in early labour.
• Rocking chairs
• Birthing balls
• Beanbags

Tens machines
(Transcutaneous Electronic Nerve Stimulation).
This gentle electric current, which is passed through 4 flat pads, which are stuck to your back, creating a tingling feeling. This is especially helpful at the beginning of the labour and with backache. It has no harmful effects on your baby.

Entonox (Gas and Air)
This is breathed through either a mouthpiece or mask. This is a very simple but effective form of analgesia, which you control. It does not take the pain away, but does take the edge off the pain from contractions. It has no harmful effects on your baby.

Water
The use of water as a method of pain relief and relaxation is very popular amongst pregnant women. The benefits of labouring in water can be seen fully described on our "use of the pool room" section.

Pethidine and Diamorphine
These are drugs that are given in the form of injections, and are commonly used for pain relief in labour. They do not completely take away the pain of contractions, but they do help you feel more relaxed and comfortable. There are side effects to these drugs, which can make you feel a bit sick, but giving you another drug with them can help counteract this.

Pethidine and Diamorphine cannot be used if you are in the pool, a factor which you need to consider when thinking about what you would like to happen whilst in labour.

The Use of the Pool Room

Women react to pain in different ways, and although water does not give complete pain relief it can reduce the pain you feel to a manageable level, often so much that you may not need additional methods of pain relief.

People often use warm water to relax and unwind; it eases aches and pains experienced with backache, aching muscles and menstrual pain. In labour, warm water also aids relaxation and eases pain.

It is thought that the warm soothing effect of the water helps the body produce endorphin hormones; these are the body's own natural painkillers. These endorphins also act as mood uplifters, and can also help to stimulate strong womb contractions, making the labour shorter.

When the pool is used for both labour and birth, women have noted:

• Greater mobility and comfort
• They do not feel abdominal pressure so much
• They are able to conserve their energy
• Pain is easier to manage

Who can use the pool?

Any woman with a "low risk" pregnancy, ie:

• A single pregnancy
• If the baby is head first
• 37+ weeks of pregnancy has been reached.

What do you wear in the pool?

This is entirely up to you; often people choose to wear nothing. However, a large t-shirt or a bikini top is suitable.

What if you need extra pain relief?

Whilst in the pool you may use Entonox or "gas and air". Aromatherapy oils may be used by inhalation whilst in the pool.

Will your baby's heartbeat be monitored?

The Midwife will monitor your baby's heartbeat using either a Pinards stethoscope or a waterproof sonicaid, at regular intervals.

What happens when the baby is born?

As soon as your baby is born he/she is brought gently to the surface, the baby's head is then kept above the water. You will then be given time with your baby and your partner to enjoy and savour the moment of birth.

You will be assisted to leave the pool for the placenta to be delivered.

If you would like to consider using the pool for either labour or to actually have a waterbirth, you will need to discuss this with your Midwife.

The environment of the pool room is very conductive to having a relaxed atmosphere around you while in labour. We use soft lighting where necessary, the warm water is very relaxing, and in the pool there is plenty of room for you to make yourself as comfortable as possible. The buoyancy of the water helps to support your body, you can even have your favourite music playing.

Everything to help you have a wonderful experience whilst having your baby.

Aromatherapy

What is Aromatherapy?

This is the controlled use of natural oils derived from plants to achieve balance and harmony of the mind, body and spirit.
It is a gentle, holistic and complementary therapy, which can be used alongside conventional medicines to ease symptoms.

How does it work?

It is not completely understood how oils work. They enter the body in different ways and can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin via the pores and hair follicle. On entering the blood stream and the nervous system they are known to have a therapeutic effect on the body.

Is it safe?

It must be stressed that many essential oils are toxic and can be harmful. Essential oils should only be used during pregnancy under the supervision of a qualified Aromatherapist.

What not to do

Do not use oils before 13 weeks of pregnancy. Some oils should not be used at all in pregnancy. Oils need to be diluted and should not be used directly on the skin.

The benefits of aromatherapy

• Reduce stress and anxiety.
• Aids relaxation and reduces the need for conventional forms of pain relief.
• Release endorphins (the bodies own pain killers).
• Increases mobility thus promoting the normal physiology of labour.
• Enhances breastfeeding.

Travel to Bishop Auckland Hospital

If you are driving to the hospital please allow time for parking as at peak times this may be a problem.

Please note there is a pay and display system in operation so it is advisable to have coins for the machines.

Parking ticket prices vary depending on your length of stay.

Useful Telephone Numbers

Bishop Auckland Hospital 01388 455000
Midwifery Led Unit 01388 455108
MLU fax number 01388 455008