Maternity unit celebrates a special occasion

West Middlesex University Hospital’s award winning maternity unit celebrated another achievement this week, with the unveiling of a number of brand new and enhanced facilities to benefit mums-to-be.

The maternity unit has a long and proud history of caring for mothers and their babies, dating back to 1932 when it was first opened by Queen Mary. Over the past nine decades it has kept pace with the latest advancements in patient care and the changing needs of women choosing to have their babies there.

The maternity service prides itself on providing as much choice as possible, including home births, a natural birth experience in a home-from-home environment, as well as having provision for more complex births. Last year it helped deliver more than 4,800** babies and the extended facilities will allow further expansion. 

Tonie Neville, Head of Midwifery, said: “We are extremely excited about these latest developments to our maternity service which will mean women and their babies will be cared for in the very best facilities.

“The extensions include six new clinic rooms, and an additional five antenatal and five postnatal rooms, each with their own en-suite bathroom. There is also a purpose built transitional care area for babies who need on-going treatment and monitoring but are not unwell enough to need our special care baby unit. This includes facilities for mothers to stay in with their babies. We have also increased our theatre recovery area to ensure that those mothers who need additional monitoring after a complicated birth can have it in a more spacious and comfortable environment.

“Our vision is to provide the full range of birthing options to suit the needs of our community, and these new facilities will further support this both now and into the future.”

The Mayor of Richmond, Cllr Jane Boulton, said: “It was wonderful to be able to see what fantastic facilities are available at West Middlesex. Around a third of all births here are currently made up of Richmond mums and they really do have access to the very best facilities which are as good as any you would find privately. At the same time the maternity service here is made up of a really dedicated team of staff and I have heard many great things about the care they provide.”

For more information on having your baby at West Middlesex, visit our dedicated website at www.westmidmaternity.org.uk email us at anc@wmuh.nhs.uk or call 020 8321 5007 / 6420. You can even directly refer yourself, using the online form found on our website or by calling 020 8321 5007 or 020 8321 6420.