Barkantine Birth Centre

The Barts and The London Birth Centre at the Barkantine Centre on the Isle of Dogs is the first purpose-built NHS Birth Centre.

Frank Saez and Claire Turley cuddle baby Jake, the morning after he became the first baby born at the new centre.

It is run jointly by Barts and The London NHS Trust and NHS Tower Hamlets, and opened in January 2008. Care is provided in a ‘home from home’ environment with a range of antenatal and intrapartum services. The Birth Centre has capacity for up to 500 births a year and offers a new opportunity for women expected to have a straightforward birth when deciding where to have their baby.

It is a ‘stand alone’ midwife-led maternity centre for pregnant women booked to have their babies within the Tower Hamlets area. It has five multi-purpose rooms, each with a birthing pool and ensuite facilities. The midwife-led service provides care for pregnant women before, during and immediately after the birth and improves access to maternity services. The centre offers antenatal check-ups from 36 weeks of pregnancy, active birth workshops and tours of the unit through the week.

As a midwife-led service, there are no obstetricians, paediatricians or anaesthetists (all specialist doctors) on site, therefore only women with low risk of complications in labour are suitable to have their babies at the Birth Centre. In the event of any concerns or in an emergency, women are transferred by ambulance to The Royal London Hospital labour ward.

Philosophy

The birthing centre staff provide a welcoming, supportive, caring environment for women and their families with the service designed around users’ needs. The staff are committed to normal births and view childbirth as a normal physiological process; consequently they can adopt a ‘low tech,’ woman-centred approach to birth. This has been shown to reduce the use of pain relief measures in labour and interventional therapy. The midwives and support staff work closely together to deliver high quality, evidence-based care; thereby supporting normal birth with confidence and competence.

Care is given regardless of background, culture or religious belief. Involving relevant local health and social care agencies is advocated if appropriate. Midwives want women to feel safe, confident and totally involved in all aspects of their care. The birthing centre promotes best practice guidance in relation to infant feeding and the Tower Hamlets Infant Feeding Policy.

Facilities

The birth centre is not just for births. It also delivers a range of services associated with care in pregnancy.
For example:

booking for pregnancy care
antenatal follow-up care
active birth workshops
signposting to antenatal and postnatal community support services
tours of the unit
telephone support and advice antenatally and postnatally

The Birth Centre has:

Consultation room - for antenatal appointments
Meeting room eg for active birth workshops
Five en-suite bedrooms (two rooms have disabled en-suite facilities) each with a birthing pool, double bed so that your partner can stay and access to a balcony
Each bedroom has piped gas and air for pain relief
Kitchen for women and staff to prepare meals and drinks
Free-access kitchen for women and their families to prepare drinks and snacks and for staff to prepare meals
General equipment rooms
Staff office

Information about birthing at the Birth Centre

We have looked at the stats for the first year of opening and have found that in the first year of being open:

Births

304 women birthed at the centre (this should increase this year)
82% of women starting their labour at the birth centre had a normal birth
45% of women had a water births
44% of women had a baby on land in an upright/all-fours position

Pain relief

72% of women used water for pain relief in labour
40% of women needed no drug-based pain relief

Transfers

112 (27%) women transferred to the Royal London during labour

Of the women transferring:

a third had a normal birth
a third had an assisted birth (ventouse or forceps)
a third had a caesarean section

If you are having your first baby you are more likely to transfer than a woman having her second or subsequent baby:

37% with your first baby
8% with second or more baby

If you are at all curious, please give us a ring to ask questions, or come on a tour and chat to us about your choices. You can discuss this option with your, GP, midwife, obstetrician or any other health professional.

How to book your care at the Barkantine Birth Centre

This service is available for women who expect to have a straightforward pregnancy and birth.

Women may book directly with the Birth Centre or be referred by any health professional by either fax or by telephone. Women are encouraged to come on a tour of the birth centre after their anomaly scan (20 week scan) to look at the facilities and ask questions, the staff also talk about the way the centre works, the philosophy of care, the process in case of concerns or emergency and the likelihood of transferring.

Care is taken over by the birth centre from 36 weeks and 50-70 women per month are offered spaces; slots are allocated after consideration of a number of factors such as where you live in the city, what number baby this is for you and when in the month you are due.

In the event that bookings for the Birth Centre are full, we will still keep your name on file and contact you if a booking becomes available.

Contact details:

Birth Centre Reception: 020 7791 8300

Birth Centre Fax: 020 7791 8301

Alternatively, please talk to your midwife, GP or call the antenatal clinic on 020 7377 7431.