Northumbria Birthing Centre at NSECH

Northumbria Birthing Centre
NSECH, Northumbria Way, Cramlington NE23 6NZ

Northumbria Birthing Centre has:

• 14 labour rooms
• Epidural
• Gas & air
• Diamorphine & Pethidine
• 2 birth pools
• Febromed birthing equipment
• Birth balls & birthing stools
•  Staff: midwives, anaesthetists and obstetricians
• 20 private, en-suite postnatal rooms
• Private en-suite rooms and partners can stay – the maternity unit have recently invested in beds for partners but its still worth double checking that this is an option and ask about bedding as well
• Special Care Baby Unit for babies who need some extra care
• Doctors and anaesthetists are available
•  Visiting: partners can stay but other visitors can visit between 2.30-4pm & 6.30-7.30pm
•  Parking: £6 for 24 hours

My thoughts about Northumbria Birthing Centre…

The feedback I receive from parents is overwhelmingly positive with comments about good care and experiences. The niggles and slightly negative comments I hear could be attached to any maternity unit – conflicting information, unhelpful comments from some staff members – so it pays to be as assertive as possible, to get the information and the support you need and find most helpful.

I like that there are pools, Febromed and other birthing equipment – it shows some thought into making labouring women comfortable and encouraging movement as well as different ways to manage and work with the contractions. And it makes a huge difference for dads to be able to spend the night.

One comment has always stayed with me and that is about the name of this maternity unit – I have met some mums postnatally who have been confused because they have expected a birthing centre – a unit which is often focused more on natural birth. While NSECH has pools and natural birth equipment, this unit is also a mainstream maternity unit with doctors, epidurals, inductions, caesareans and related policies/procedures. This is not a bad thing at all – in fact it is considered a positive thing by many expectant parents – but be aware of this to manage your expectations of what to the ward will be like.

Tips & comments from parents about Northumbria Birthing Centre…

• great experience during the birth.
• overnight support wasn’t as good as it could have been so if I had my time again I’d have pressed the button more often.
• midwives and student midwives were fab
• bring change for parking
• really positive birth with great communication and support
• take your own bottles and formula if you are not planning to breastfeed
• take plenty of snacks
• the care was good but be prepared for the midwives to be busy
• couldn’t fault them. I didn’t have a straight forward time of if at all but every member of staff I encountered couldn’t have done more for us
• the rooms were spacious, private and had a toilet and shower
• they did everything within their power to help me give birth as naturally as possible, even though my body didn’t want to do much and we were at it a long time.

Janine Smith – a specialist in pregnancy, birth & early parenting
Birth Preparation | Postnatal Sessions | Baby Massage | Weaning | 1:1 Parent Support

Find out more about Northumbria Birthing Centre and here’s a guide to what to pack in your birth bag.

The Pregnancy, Birth & New Baby Guide
Birth at NSECH
Birth at the RVI
Birth at Hexham Maternity Unit
Homebirth

Copyright: Janine Smith