Community Midwifery
Community midwives and maternity support workers deliver your antenatal and postnatal care in the community and are on call for homebirths and to support the Birth Centres. Community midwifery is usually your first contact when your pregnancy is confirmed.
Opening times:
Monday – Sunday 08.30 to 16.30 routine care
24/7 on call service for home birth, birth centres and continuity of care pathways
Services:
Community midwives are usually based in teams of 4-8 providing care from your first appointment in pregnancy to around 14 days after the birth of your baby. You will have a named Midwife to co-ordinate your care however you may see other members of the midwifery team. Each team has at least one Midwifery Support Worker who will also be involved in your care.
Your care may be arranged at clinics which are held in GP surgeries, local Children’s Centres, Calderdale Royal Hospital and Acre Mills, Huddersfield. Home visits are arranged according to need.
We have a number of specialist Midwives and health professionals who support women with a range of additional health and social care needs and we often work with other local agencies.
NHS Maternity services are currently transforming and we are excited to be developing our new ‘Continuity of Care’ services. Continuity teams will provide care throughout the whole journey for women on their team caseload, including care at the time of birth.
Your care - what to expect
Your plan of care will be personal to you and details will be agreed after your booking appointment, taking into account your medical and obstetric history, screening results and personal choices.
Your routine community appointments might look something like this:
| Pregnancy | Routine Appointments |
|---|---|
| 6-8 weeks | Positive pregnancy test? Congratulations! Phone and make an appointment with a midwife |
| 8-10 weeks | Booking appointment, we will ask lots of questions, offer you screening tests, take booking blood samples, measure your blood pressure, height and weight, offer health advice and book your first scan |
| 12 weeks | Dating or Nuchal Translucency scan at the hospital |
| 16 weeks | Antenatal check at clinic / home / phone |
| 18-21 weeks | Fetal anatomy scan at the hospital |
| 25 weeks | Extra antenatal contact for first time mothers |
| 28 weeks | Antenatal check & blood tests |
| 31/32 weeks | Antenatal check |
| 34 weeks | Antenatal check |
| 36/37 weeks | Antenatal check / Birth plan |
| 38/39 weeks | Antenatal check |
| 41 weeks | Antenatal check |
| Postnatal | Routine appointments (extra appointments as necessary) |
| First day after discharge | Home visit/phone call, health checks for mother and baby along with feeding support |
| Day 3 | Breastfeeding support |
| Day 5-7 | Newborn screening blood test / weigh baby |
| Day 10-14 | Postnatal check & discharge. Transfer to health visitor/GP |
You may also be under the care of a Consultant and could have several appointments at the hospital instead of in community. Your midwife is always there for you if you need her, or you can always speak to a midwife by phoning the relevant maternity advice line during office hours.
After the birth of your baby your community midwifery team will continue to support you until you and baby are ready to be discharged to the care of the health visiting team and your GP.
