First Great Year for Midwife Led Birth Unit at City Hospital

7th Mar 2012

The Annual Report for the first year of activity at City Hospitals’ Midwife-Led Serenity Birth Unit has just been published and highlights a brilliant start to the unit’s working life.

The report goes into great detail about the numbers and types of birth at the centre, including positions women give birth in, whether they are in or out of water, whether pain relief was used or not and the clinical procedures used, if at all during each birth. The outcomes for babies born in the unit is also analysed in so far as it can be.

Author of the report and Consultant Midwife at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Hospitals Trust, Kathryn Gutteridge, said: “The philosophy of the Serenity Unit, and now the new Halcyon Unit, is to provide family centred midwifery care that is safe and focused on a high level of midwifery skill that promotes the woman’s physical and emotional wellbeing.”

She added:” A key result significant to Serenity Birth Centre is the number of women using the service, over 1000 in all when the report was written.”

The Serenity Service opened in May 2010 and its ‘sister’ unit, Halcyon inSmethwickfollowed in October 2011.  Both provide a purpose built suite of facilities which enable local families to welcome their newest members in bright and comfortable surroundings, supported by an NHS midwife.

Kathryn Gutteridge added: “The rooms are all homely and inviting, offering families a ‘home from home’ experience, with facilities designed to promote normal birth and early bonding to their baby.”

This in depth first annual report identifies the all important clinical outcomes over the last 12 months and provides analysis of all activity within the unit. Lessons learned will be carried forward into the coming year and also reflected in the management of the new Halcyon Centre.

 

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