Hampshire Hospitals’ maternity team is delighted to offer an extension to the birth choices available for women booked at Hampshire hospitals with the opening of the Winchester Birth Centre at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital.
The new centre provides midwife-led care for pregnant women who do not require medical care in labour and although it is accessed via its own entrance, it is in close proximity to the Obstetric Unit within Florence Portal House, Winchester hospital’s dedicated maternity wing. This means that although urgent obstetric or neonatal care is rarely required, it can be accessed quickly if needed.
The centre offers a calm and less clinical environment, with a birthing pool, ambient lighting, lots space for moving around, and various birthing aids available to help women adopt different positions during labour.
Wendy Randall, Director of Midwifery for Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We know how important it is for pregnant women and people to be able to choose a place of birth that meets their needs. Previously, we have not been able to offer women booked at Hampshire Hospitals the option of birthing in an alongside midwifery-led unit so we are delighted to be increasing their choices for place of birth.
“This is a wonderful addition to our midwifery service for low-risk women. By choosing to birth in centres like these, women are more likely to have a straightforward vaginal birth, avoid medical interventions like forceps, and caesarean births, and have a lower risk of heavy bleeding after the birth. Importantly research has shown that it is as safe for babies to be born in a birth centre as it is to be born in the obstetric unit. We are delighted to support pregnant women to birth their babies in this new, calm environment, under the care of our dedicated birth centre midwives.”
The Winchester Birth Centre complements the Obstetric Units at Winchester and Basingstoke, and it is available for all women who book at Hampshire Hospitals as well as the freestanding Andover Birth Centre and option of homebirth, expanding choice for women across the region.
