The Community Midwifery service provide personalised care throughout your pregnancy and up to 28 days after your baby is born. They provide information to help you make choices to support your health and wellbeing and can signpost to other services you may need.
The team deliver labour and birth preparation sessions during pregnancy. In addition, breastfeeding support drop-in clinics are available after you have had your baby.
There are four Community Midwifery teams that work across different parts of Rotherham.
Contact the community Midwifery Service
Community Midwifery team - (appointments only), A community midwife will be your named contact throughout your pregnancy and up to 28 days after you have given birth.
Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit (EPAU) or ward B11 (Advice out of hours working) - Offers support to anyone experiencing complications up to 20 weeks in early pregnancy
Labour ward triage - Maternity services and care available after 20 weeks during pregnancy.
Keeping well during pregnancy
Keeping well in pregnancy is of benefit to mother, baby and wider family. The NHS site offers support on a range of things such as emotional wellbeing, nutrition, exercise, the impact of drugs and alcohol. This resource is also useful for those supporting someone who is pregnant.
For further information on keeping well during pregnancy click the following link: Keeping well in pregnancy
Alcohol and pregnancy
There are a lot of mixed messages and myths about drinking alcohol while you are pregnant. The truth is there is no safe time, amount, or type of alcohol you can drink while you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant.
Watch the animation below to find out more about drinking alcohol during pregnancy. If you have questions or want further support to quit drinking, you can find out more on the NHS website.
Vaccinations
There are a range of free NHS vaccinations available to protect you and your child from infectious diseases. A video has been produced by the NHS, which you can watch to find out more:
Women and birthing people can self-refer to Rotherham Maternity Services on their website or notify their GP who will send a referral to the team. You are encouraged to refer as early as possible, so the first appointment can take place by the tenth week.
Pregnancy support - All you need to know about trying for a baby, pregnancy, labour and birth.
Ask Olive - Ask Olive is your friendly online midwife. Ask Olive is a Facebook page which provides information and answers for any non-urgent queries through private message.
Togetherness
Togetherness, in partnership with Family Hubs, offers a range of courses designed to support you on your journey to having a new baby. These are called ‘pathways’ and can help to give you the knowledge to feel prepared – right from bonding with your baby in the womb to birth and beyond.
Togetherness is an NHS emotional health team who are passionate about preventative mental health.
Togetherness also offers three key courses to support you in the months just after having your baby, too.
These include a course on understanding your baby, which explores understanding why your baby is crying, your baby’s rhythm and feeding right up to development and play.
There is also a specific pathway for parents or carers of babies age 0-6 months who are receiving neonatal care in hospital. This course can help you to understand exactly what has happened, your feelings in hospital and preparing for discharge back home.
