Cotswold Birth Centre

General information

Managed by a team of highly skilled and experienced community midwives and dedicated maternity support workers, the Cotswold Birth Centre is a small, local and accessible place providing a home from home setting which is welcoming and supportive for women and their families. We offer continuity of care and a sensitive, individualised approach to many low risk women who do not need to give birth in hospital. Women experiencing complications in their pregnancies can receive their antenatal and postnatal care at our centre where their midwife will communicate with their hospital based obstetrician to provide care as part of a multiprofessional team.

Services offered:

Antenatal care – women can receive all of their antenatal care at the centre including the initial booking appointment and subsequent routine appointments. We welcome women to book extra appointments with us if they have any queries or concerns about their pregnancy, we can assess them and offer reassurance, referring them for further care at the hospital if required. Our team of community midwives also provide antenatal care at GP surgeries in Bloxham, Hook Norton, Charlbury, Wychwood, Woodstock and Deddington; women are advised to contact their surgery directly to arrange appointments. The West Street and White House antenatal clinics are held at the Cotswold Birth Centre. Pre-birth courses are available to first time parents for free, booking is essential via telephone or email.

Care in labour – Our centre is open 24 hours a day for low risk women to birth in where they will receive continuity of care in a quiet and calm environment. The birth rooms are designed to help women relax and promote the release of natural pain relieving hormones. Women can use the pool for labour and birth and we can offer support on positions to labour in, aromatherapy, hypnobirthing, music, massage, TENS, Entonox (gas and air) and Meptid (a morphine based injection) too. We facilitate births at the centre and at home, supported by community midwives from Banbury, Witney and Bicester, providing care to women from around the county and further afield encouraging normal childbirth by recognising, respecting and safeguarding normal birth progressions. Most births are very straightforward however our midwives and maternity support workers are trained to deal with emergencies and monitor women and babies regularly through labour. Complications are swiftly recognised and if we feel a woman or baby should be seen by a doctor then we will accompany them in an ambulance to the maternity units at Horton General Hospital or John Radcliffe Hospital. Midwives are on call from home at night so women must call our number before coming to the centre so we may meet them there and open the centre for them. Women with a straightforward pregnancy with no medical or obstetric problems and who go into labour between 37 and 42 weeks may birth at our centre. If they do not meet these conditions and still wish to have their baby with us or at home then we encourage them to discuss this with us and we will arrange for them to speak to a Supervisor of Midwives or a Consultant Midwife.

Postnatal care – We provide immediate postnatal care to women and their babies, facilitating skin to skin, delayed umbilical cord clamping, natural delivery of the placenta and initiating breastfeeding if wished by the woman. We also provide support to mothers who wish to feed their babies with formula milk. Women can expect to go home between two and eight hours after the birth and we will continue to support women with an initial visit at home the following day and further appointments at the centre for postnatal support. Breastfeeding support is available each day at the centre. Women who are experiencing breastfeeding difficulties can telephone our centre and will be invited to spend time in one of our postnatal rooms where they will be given excellent support and advice from our knowledgeable midwives and maternity support workers. They can bring their own lunch to store in our fridge and stay for as long as they need to, resting in between feeds and receiving help as required.

Facilities:

Day room with comfortable seating, books about breastfeeding and normal birth, information leaflets and posters.

Kitchen with tea and coffee making facilities, women and their families are encouraged to help themselves and there is a pot for voluntary contributions towards refreshments.

Two antenatal clinic rooms each with an examination area and en suite.

Two birth rooms each with a birthing pool, en suite, CD/iPod/radio player, low level lighting, birth ball, and a low level couch and bean bag or a bed.

Two postnatal rooms each with a bed, cot, baby changing area, and baby bath and en suite.

We strongly recommend you come and look around the centre; tours are held each Saturday at 2pm, please call or email us to book your place.