Maternity

Online Self Referral for Maternity Care at St George’s

Welcome to St George’s Maternity Unit. We look forward to caring for you and your baby during pregnancy, birth and afterwards.

Follow this link if you are pregnant and would like to have your baby at St George’s to complete the online self referral form – completing this will start the pathway to get a booking appointment with a midwife. You can use this form before contacting your GP.

This form can also be completed by healthcare professionals e.g. GP’s to refer patients to our maternity care pathways.

Please try to complete before 7 weeks of pregnancy (OR as soon as you know you are pregnant after that gestation, OR as soon as you decide on a transfer of care). Once the referral has been processed, you will receive a letter with a midwife appointment. This can take 2-3 weeks.

Early Pregnancy Service

For pregnancies less than 14 weeks

020 8725 0093

If you are less than 14 weeks pregnant and have any concerns e.g., abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding, please contact us for information and advice on our Early Pregnancy Answerphone Service Monday – Saturday, number above. Leave your name, phone number and pregnancy concern and the nurses will respond to your answerphone message in the afternoon every day except Sundays. Please visit their webpage here for more information. If you have urgent concerns please go to A&E.

St George’s Maternity Helpline

For pregnancies more than 14 weeks

020 8725 2777

Please call this number if you are more than 14 weeks pregnant and have concerns about yourself or your baby (during pregnancy, labour or in the 6 weeks after birth). It is staffed by midwives who can offer advice, reassurance, and clinical support 7 days a week.

What Language Do You Need? (Translation Services)

If English is not your first language, please let us know if you require an interpreter. We can provide a face to face interpreter for outpatient care, and we always have telephone translation services available 24 hours a day in all settings.

Maternity Unit Tour

We have created this maternity tour video to show you the unit, how to get there and what to expect. We hope this is helpful for you.

Feedback from our service users can be found on NHS Choices.

Temporary Changes To Birth Centre at St George’s University Hospital Maternity Unit

July 2023: Our absolute priority is to ensure the safety of all our patients and to achieve the best possible outcomes. Unfortunately, this may mean that we will not always be able to offer our full range of birthing options. At times, we may need to temporarily close our Birth Centre to redirect our staff to other areas of clinical need in order to maintain safety across the unit.

Please be assured that we will make every effort to keep the Birth Centre closed for the shortest time possible, whilst we maintain midwifery-led care in the Delivery Suite.

We are very pleased to announce, that we will soon be opening our new water birth facilities in the Delivery Suite, so that we can continue to offer this choice of birth for all.

Thank you for your understanding and patience. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

If you need additional support please contact our Consultant Midwife on maternity.experience@stgeorges.nhs.uk

ENTONOX Statement

July 2023: Entonox is the ‘laughing gas’ used in labour. It is breathed in by the labouring person and does not affect the baby. It has a very short-lasting effect with each breath. Some people only use this form of pain relief in labour.

This issue concerns risks associated with levels of nitrous oxide gas to which staff may be exposed to, as reported in the press.

At St George’s University Hospitals, there are currently no plans to stop any use of Entonox (Nitrous Oxide & Oxygen).

The assessments of the occupational levels of Nitrous Oxide exposure in staff for the past year have assured us that our current upgraded ventilation system has significantly reduced staff exposure levels and we continue to regularly monitor staff exposure to ensure their safety and wellbeing.

In addition, we are working closely with our Estates teams to introduce formal active extraction (scavenging) of nitrous oxide into all areas of maternity by upgrading some of our rooms and using specialised hoses on Entonox breathing systems. This, combined with a specialised destruction unit, will further optimise the safety of nitrous oxide use both to the staff and the environment.

What our service users say:

“I want to reassure you that your staff are doing a fantastic job despite the huge demands placed on them.”

“My husband and I will be forever grateful to the individuals involved and the NHS for the extremely high level of care provided”

“The team were absolutely brilliant, I cannot thank them enough”