Maternity ward

The maternity ward is located on the second floor at Hereford County Hospital.

If you are not wishing for an early discharge from Delivery Suite or if you and your baby need some additional monitoring or support with feeding then you will be transferred to Maternity Ward shortly after birth. When you arrive a midwife will be assigned to care for you and they will come and introduce themselves. There are also Maternity Support Workers and Healthcare Assistants on the ward who can support you and help you with baby cares.

Below is some useful information about how the ward works:

Visiting times

Your birth partner can visit you between the hours of 9am and 9pm. Siblings can also visit in these times as long as they are accompanied by your partner

Family and friends can visit you between 1pm and 4pm

There should only be a maximum of 2 people for each bedside as there is limited space in the bays (not including siblings)

Refreshments

In the morning, someone will come and take your choices for lunch and dinner. Please make us aware as soon as possible if you have any food intolerances or dietary requirements. Breakfast is served between 8am and 9am. If you have just had a caesarean section your breakfast will be bought to you. If you are able to be mobile, you will be able to help yourself in the milk kitchen/patients kitchen. Lunch is served between 12.30 and 1pm and dinner is served between 5pm and 6pm.

In the milk kitchen there are facilities to make your own tea, coffee, hot chocolate. We ask that you do not use the fridge for your own food. 

Daily postnatal checks

If you have had your baby, your midwife will come and come and carry out a postna­tal check. This will involve discussing your physical and emotional wellbeing, check­ing how your wound is healing if you have had a caesarean section or if you’d like us to check your stitches if you have had any. 

Observations

We offer 4 hourly observations whether you are antenatal or postnatal.  This involves doing your temperature, your blood pressure, your pulse and your respiration rate. If you are antenatal we will offer to listen in to your baby’s heartrate every 4 hours also. For women undergoing induction of labour we will also ask to carry out a CTG (longer monitoring) of baby’s heart rate.  The timing and frequency of these will determined by the reason you are being induced and will be explained to you by your midwife or doctor. 

Doctors ward round

In the morning, usually between 9am and 10am the doctors will come and visit each patient if needed. The team usually consists of a Consultant Obstetrician, an Obstetric Registrar, a Junior Doctor and the Midwife who is caring for you that day, it may also include an Anaesthetist if needed. A second ward round also happens in the evening. 

Medications

Your Midwife will carry out a drug round at 6am, midday, 2pm, 6pm and 10pm. This will provide you with any regular medications you take and pain relief. If you need pain relief in between these timings then please just ask. Some controlled drugs are given at midnight if you have had a caesarean section.

Daily baby examination

We complete a daily top to toe check of your baby where we will be looking out for signs of jaundice, checking their cord, noticing how they handle, their temperature and their eyes. We will also discuss how feeding is going, your baby’s wet and dirty nappies and how they are sleeping. 

Transitional care observations

It may have been advised that your baby needs additional observations. This will be if you were taking blood pressure medications during pregnancy, if you are diabetic, if baby’s birthweight plots on the 2nd centile, if baby's birth weight is under 2.5kg or if you used certain drugs or medication during pregnancy. The observations include taking baby’s temperature, their respiration rate and their heart rate. If baby is at risk of not maintaining their blood sugar levels (e.g. if you were diabetic or took blood pressure medication in pregnancy, or baby is small or premature) then it will be advised that we also measure baby’s blood sugar levels. This involves a small prick on the heel. 

NIPE examination

We will offer for your baby to have a NIPE (Newborn Infant Physical Examination) within 72 hours of baby being born. This is either carried out by a Paediatrician or by a specially trained Midwife. It is a more in depth examination which involves looking at your baby’s eyes, listening to their heart, examining their hips, their testes and their reflexes. More information on NIPE examinations can be found on your Badgernet portal “Screening tests for you and your baby” leaflet.

Hearing screening

The Hearing Screening team will come to maternity ward each morning to do baby’s initial hearing screening. If it isn’t carried out on the ward then an appointment will be sent to you in the post within 4 weeks of birth. Please see the “Screening tests for you and your baby” leaflet on the Badgernet portal or this leaflet. 

Feeding your baby

We are here to support you feed your baby, which ever method you choose. We have been recognised by UNICEF in 2019 for work with mothers and babies and have been awarded Baby Friendly status. This recognises that best practice standards are in place to protect, promote and support breastfeeding, responsive bottle feeding and support all mothers and parents with their informed feeding choices. 

We have a team of midwives and maternity support workers who are on hand to support new parents with caring for your baby and infant feeding. The staff are trained and experienced to provide excellent advice and guidance to parents. We also have a trained team of volunteer mum’s providing additional support to parents on our maternity ward as they transition into parenthood. They have first-hand experience of motherhood and provide an extra non-clinical layer of support to new parents during their stay.

Babies at risk of low blood glucose

Which babies are at risk of low blood glucose? Babies who are small, premature, unwell at birth or whose mothers are diabetic or have taken blood pressure medication are at risk of low blood glucose. This is also sometimes called low blood sugar or hypoglycaemia. If your baby is in one of these at risk groups it is recommended they have blood tests to check their blood glucose level.

Please use our universal feed charts to track your babies feeds and nappy changes. Especially if your baby is at risk of low blood glucose or is finding feeding difficult. This chart helps our staff and peer supporters to guide you with the correct advice. 

Getting breastfeeding off to the best start

Breastmilk is tailor made for your baby. It boosts your baby’s ability to fight illness and infection. Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for around the first 6 months and alongside solid foods thereafter. Breastfeeding lowers the mother’s risk of breast cancer and may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer. Keeping your baby close will help you to respond to their need for food, love and comfort. Skin to skin is beneficial for you and your baby during the postnatal period. It keeps your baby close, encourages your relationship with your baby and aids baby brain development.

Look out for important feeding cues. When your baby is hungry you will notice your baby mouthing, turning its head towards you, hands moving towards its mouth. It’s important to try and feed your baby when you see these cues, and not to wait until your baby is crying as it can sometimes be harder for your baby to latch when he/she is crying. 

Responsive bottle feeding

If you choose to formula feed your baby we recommend only using first milks for the first 12 months. We ask you to use starter packs of instant infant formula whilst you are staying on maternity ward. This is because we are unable to store opened milk in our fridge, which helps us safeguard your babies wellbeing. Your baby will tell you when it is ready to feed, he/she will start mouthing/turning his/her head towards you, bringing hands to her/his mouth. Feeding your baby is a special moment to feel close and loving towards your baby, hold your baby close, maintain eye contact, and try and limit the number of people who feed the baby. Some family and friends may offer to help you feed your baby, as they are hoping to be helpful, but this can interrupt valuable bonding time between baby and parents. 

Speak to our support staff who will be happy to help you go through feeding your baby for the first time. As you are using the starter packs of formula milk, you will not need bottles during your stay. Simply use the pre sterilised teats that come in the pack to feed your baby from the bottle. This can be kept for 1 hour at room temperature once your baby has finished feeding, before it needs to be thrown away. The older your baby gets, the more milk your baby will wish to take.

Pace the feeds by following your babies cues, if your baby is spilling milk from his/her mouth it’s a sign that your baby needs a break. Without removing the teat from your babies mouth, gently lower the angle of the bottle to reduce the flow of the milk, allow baby to take a break, and continue if baby wishes to continue feeding. Always ensure there is milk in the teat of the bottle as this will prevent baby from taking on lots of air whilst feeding. Your baby may need winding regularly during a feed. Most parents find this easier by doing this by holding baby over their shoulder and tapping / gently rubbing babies back. 

General points

We ask that you keep your phone on silent so as not to disturb other women in your bay.

We have ear plugs available to aid your rest, please ask a member of staff if you would like some.

If you are visiting your baby on SCBU please return to the ward for meal times (we are unable to reheat food) and for medication rounds so you don’t miss essential medications and pain relief. 

Take a virtual tour of our maternity ward

Video filmed in June 2021

Tour of maternity unit

Video filmed in June 2020