Wye Valley NHS Trust

Membrane sweeps A membrane sweep or ‘stretch and sweep’ is when the midwife or doctor inserts two fingers into the vagina, through the cervix (if it is open enough) and uses a circular sweeping motion around the membranes in order to try and stimulate your body to release the hormone prostaglandin and create tightenings. NICE guidelines suggest that a sweep can be discussed and offered to women from 39 weeks. Although a membrane sweep isn’t a formal stage in the induction of labour process, it is still classed as a method of inducing labour and is often thought of as…

Some babies will be offered additional care or observations after birth, this is called transitional care. If you have needed to take Labetalol for high blood pressure in pregnancy If you had gestational diabetes If your waters had been broken for more than 24 hours If it was thought you might have developed an infection during labour If your baby was a low birthweight If your baby was born before 37 weeks If you had meconium stained liquor during labour If your baby is jaundiced and receiving phototherapy If you have taken drugs in pregnancy If you had known Group…

If you have previously given birth by caesarean section your care will differ slightly. You will continue seeing your midwife in the community setting, but will also be invited for a consultant appointment at 14 to 16 weeks and then again at 34 to 36 weeks.  A full discussion about your previous birth and current pregnancy will take place and the options for birth this time around.  Your consultant should go through the risks and benefits of both a VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean) and an EL LSCS (elective caesarean section).  If you decide to opt for an EL LSCS…

Obstetric cholestasis (OC) or Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, affects around 0.7% of pregnancies in a multi-cultural society.  If you have been diagnosed with this condition, it may have started with itchy skin, which may have been worse on your hands and feet, but can be anywhere on your body. It is caused when the bile that flows through your liver slows down or even stops.  This leads to bile acids building up in your liver, which then leak out into your bloodstream and cause itching.  Some women find that the itching is worse at night, affects their sleep and can…

Maternity triage phone number - 07990 986517, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We have introduced a new telephone system within Maternity Triage to reduce unnecessary wait times and improve patient experience by allowing calls from women, birthing people and their families to be prioritised. The contact number for Maternity Triage remains the same. However, all calls in to the new system from 6 May 2025 are now recorded for staff training, audit and monitoring purposes.  How to find us Maternity Triage is located on the second floor at Hereford County Hospital. Follow the main corridor from the main entrance…

'Maddie's' story My waters had gone at around 11pm, my partner and I were in bed and I was actually eating profiteroles rolls before going to sleep at the time! It was strange that day…as we had put the car seat into the car, I had sorted all of the babies bottles and had literally got everything ready. After I had realised my waters had gone I phoned maternity triage, the midwife was very helpful and reassured me as I started to get very nervous. I thought I was going to go over my due date. She advised me to…

Birth Story 1 – An emergency caesarean section ‘I had my daughter 7 weeks early on the 7th January 2022 by category 1 caesarean section. I had come in during the middle of the night for monitoring as baby’s movements felt very off. I had felt her move, but my gut instinct was telling me something was wrong. Thought I'd just go in and she would be fine on the monitor, put my mind at rest and I could go home to bed. Turned out baby was in distress and within an hour of being on the monitor, I had…

Clostridium difficile infection Patient information Clostridium difficile is a type of bacteria (bug) which lives in the large intestine (part of the gut).

Viral gastroenteritis (norovirus) patient information. Viral gastroenteritis is when the gut lining becomes irritated by a virus, and can have many causes. One of the most common is Norovirus. It results in sudden onset of profuse vomiting with or without diarrhoea.

When you are on biologic drugs (or biosimilar) you are more likely to get food poisoning, because part of your body’s immune system is being altered. In order to avoid the risk of salmonella, listeria and e.coli you shouldn’t eat the following foods: Unpasteurised milk and dairy products, e.g. cheese made from unpasteurised milk. Mould ripened soft cheeses (e.g. Brie and Camembert) and blue cheeses (whether pasteurised or not), feta and goats cheeses. Raw eggs, or foods containing uncooked egg (e.g. home-made mayonnaise). Raw or undercooked meat (e.g. rare steak) and fish. Cooked rice over 24 hours old and not…