When should you call the hospital

Telephone: 024 7686 5246

• When you are having two or more contractions in 10 minutes, they are regular in pattern and they are lasting 30-40 seconds
  
• If you are finding it hard to manage at home
  
  

Also call

• If your baby’s pattern of movements has changed.
  
• If your waters break.
  
• If you have any bleeding.
  
• A headache which does not resolve.
  
• Visual disturbances.
  
• Swelling of your hands and feet.
  
• If you are feeling unwell.
  
• If you have any questions. 

Why you may be advised to stay or return home

The midwife will ask you some questions about your pregnancy to date. She will listen to you when you have a contraction as this will help her know how you are coping and assess which stage of labour you are in. The midwife may be able to advise you on how to cope at home until your labour is well established. Some women call several times before they come in to the hospital. 

When you call, the midwife will talk to you about how your labour is progressing. As long as everything is normal, you may be advised to stay at home until labour becomes established. If you come into hospital the same process will be carried out. You may be advised to go home to wait for labour to become more established.

When you come to the hospital in labour the midwife will monitor your contractions. You may be offered an internal examination to see how far your labour has progressed. If this shows you are still in the early stages of labour, it may be better for you to be at home where you can be more active and relaxed.

If you go home, the midwife will give you advice which will help you cope with your labour and when to call again.

When you are in established labour

You will be assessed by the midwife. If your labour is advanced you will be shown to your delivery room. The midwife will discuss your birth plan with you and support you during your labour and birth.

Labour suite

George Eliot Hospital Labour Suite has ten delivery rooms and an obstetric theatre where Caesarean sections are performed. Women here receive consultant led and midwife led care. Two of the rooms have birthing pools for women to utilise for water labour and water birth.

A variety of different pain relief is offered including gas and air, pethidine and epidural. In the Labour Suite you will have one to one care from a midwife. 

Home Births

Home is an ideal place to have your baby. You are likely to be more relaxed within your own familiar surroundings, with family close at hand. 

You can consider a home birth if you: 

·         are having a straightforward pregnancy

·         have no medical problems

·         have had no complications with a previous birth

If you are interested in having a home birth please discuss it with your community midwife as soon as possible. Be assured that a local community midwife is on call 24 hours a day to help you give birth.

Water births

George Eliot Hospital now has two state of the art birthing pools. Many mums say that water births have relaxed them and helped them during labour. Our birthing rooms have a calm relaxing environment with calming mood lighting to ensure that birth is as comfortable as possible.

RCM Positions in Labour Poster

Pain relief

Nobody knows exactly how labour will feel until it starts. There are various options to support mums with pain relief. You can also discuss the options with your community midwife.

George Eliot Hospital offers a wide selection of pain relief.

When you come into hospital we have a number of ways of helping you manage your pain.

Breathing/Relaxation/Distraction/Hypnosis

Our parent education classes can provide information about various techniques to assist during labour

Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils for therapeutic effects and are derived from plants and flowers. They have various properties derived by their chemical make up and can help:

• To reduce anxiety and fear
  
• Alleviate pain
  
• Assist contractions thereby accelerate labour
  
• Alleviate nausea and vomiting
  
• Enhance maternal well being during labour

Birthing pools

We have two state of the art birthing pool rooms available for parents with relaxing environment and twinkly lights! 

Birth balls

A birth ball is a standard physiotherapy ball used in physical therapy departments. These balls are great for relieving discomfort during pregnancy and also labour. It provides a firm yet soft place to sit. It also helps you to get into a good position during labour and so helping to stop you from straining your muscles. These can help to keep you mobile during your labour. 

Entonox or Gas and air

Entonox, or gas and air, is a colourless and odourless gas. It is made up of half oxygen and half nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, as it is commonly known. It has a calming effect and takes the edge off labour pain, rather than blocking it out completely. 

Pethidine

This is a painkilling drug and it can also help you to relax. This drug is given to you using an injection. Ask you midwife for more information about Pethidine as an option.

TENS

TENS stands for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. A TENS machine consists of a small box with a clip on the back that you can attach to your clothing. The machine gives out little pulses of electrical energy. Leading out of the box are four wires connected to sticky pads. Your birth partner can place the pads on your back for you. 

TENS seems to work best and give you the most effective pain relief if you start using it at the very beginning of your labour. If you want to use this method of pain relief we advise you to hire or buy a TENS machine. You can use it at home before you come into hospital, if you are having a hospital birth. 
 
Start using it when you're getting regular contractions or backache. Speak to our midwifery team about how to obtain a TENS unit. 

Epidural

An epidural is a small plastic tube that sits in the space surrounding your spinal cord. The plastic tube is fed through a needle placed in your back to make sure it is in the correct position and then the needle is removed, leaving only the plastic tube itself taped to your back. 

A local anaesthetic called Bupivacaine and a very small dose of a morphine-like drug called Fentanyl are injected through the plastic tube and act by numbing the nerves which pass out from your spinal cord and travel to the areas causing pain.