Rowan Suite Hartlepool

The Rowan Suite features specially designed rooms with a ‘home from home’ atmosphere to promote your comfort and relaxation.

The suite has an active birth room to assist you to stay mobile in your labour, and a pool suite to help with relief from pain and discomfort during labour.

The Rowan team provide ante-natal and post-natal care, co-ordinate births and care for mothers-to-be who are deemed low risk throughout their pregnancy.

Low risk includes:

• Being of a healthy weight

• Not having medical conditions such as diabetes

• Be pregnant with one single baby

• Being a non smoker

• Having had no complications during previous pregnancies or births

Mothers-to-be who do not meet the low-risk criteria will continue to receive a high standard of community care and support planning for their birth within the obstetric unit at the University of North Tees.

Facilities

The Rowan suite is designed to look less clinical than a hospital ward. It has all of the equipment required to care for you safely, but these are out of sight.

There are three birthing rooms, all attractively designed and equipped to help you stay upright and mobile, which has been proven to shorten the length of labour.

Why choose the Rowan Suite

Choosing to give birth within the Rowan suite is a decision made by you with the support of the Midwife responsible for your care. Careful assessments will be undertaken each time you see your care provider, to ensure that your birth takes place in the unit most appropriate for you and your baby.

The benefits to Midwifery led units include:

• Greater satisfaction from your birth experience

• Less need for pain relief

• A quicker discharge home following your birth.

The Rowan team uses a Continuity of Carer model which means you will know the team of Midwives caring for you throughout your pregnancy, labour and postnatal period.

Continuity of carer and knowing your midwife is associated with greater satisfaction, improved outcomes for both you and your baby, less chance of an episiotomy and greater success of your breastfeeding journey.

Who will deliver my baby?

The unit is midwifery led, which means that all care is provided by Midwives.

What happens if there is a complication during labour?

If for any reason there is a change of risk factor in your pregnancy, you will be advised to have your baby in the obstetric unit at the University Hospital of North Tees.

If there is any change during your labour, or a cause for concern, we will advise transfer to the Delivery suite at the University Hospital of North Tees and accompany you by ambulance.

Arriving at the suite

You are advised to contact our midwives when you suspect that you are in labour.

A midwife will meet you at the unit and attend to your care. The team are on-call to care for you throughout the night and may not always be on site. Therefore it is important that you do not attend the unit unannounced and alert your midwife if you believe you have gone into labour.

What happens after labour

After your baby has been born, we will support you in returning home soon after birth.

The team includes midwives who are trained in the Newborn Physical exam to ensure a seamless service.

We will support you with feeding your baby both within the Rowan Suite and when you return home.

Visiting

You are welcome to have two birth partners during your labour in the Rowan suite.

Visitors are welcome if you wish for them to attend after the birth, but you may decide it may be better for them to visit you at home once you and baby are settled back in.

How to leave feedback

We hope your stay with us is as pleasant as possible. However, if at any time you or your visitors have a question or concern please:

• Speak to the midwife looking after you or the midwife in change
• Contact our patient experience team

After your pregnancy and birth, you may also wish to leave feedback on your experience:

• Complete our patient survey on ward
• Share your experience with our reflections team
• Share your feedback with our Maternity Voices Partnership

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