Celebrating maternity care in North West London

We are really proud of the progress made, which has all been due to a collaborative effort between all the maternity trusts in the local area, the women using their services and commissioners.

Our achievements to date include:

• The launch of the NW London Mum and Baby app – a personal guide for pregnancy, birth and beyond
• A collection of information booklets – for pregnancy, birth and the first few weeks of parenthood
• The set-up of Maternity Voice Partnerships (MVP’s) – offering women the chance to get involved with how we transform maternity services in their local area
• Providing more women with ‘continuity of care’ – meaning that they are assigned one dedicated midwife who acts as their first point of contact and provides continued care and support throughout their pregnancy, birth and the first few weeks of settling in with baby at home.

We are really pleased to announce that every maternity hospital in North West London now has a midwifery team that is able to offer women continuity of care. As a result of these changes women are reporting that they are now more relaxed and some are even excited about going into labour.

Job satisfaction for our midwives has also been really important to us. Siobhan Hickey a midwife who shared her experience of working at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust said: “Providing continuity of care provides so much job satisfaction, it was lovely getting to know the women and becoming not just their midwife but their friend and confidant.”

In addition to reflecting on our achievements, the event was also an opportunity to put some ideas together and share aspirations for the future. We’re really excited about continuing to make a difference for our local women and ensuring that they receive the best care possible.

Anita Hutchins, Director of Midwifery at The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “There are huge challenges in North West London but our staff are committed to making it work, I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone.”   

We want all women to trust in the fact that when they give birth in North West London they will be receiving care that is safe, care that offers personalised choice to each individual and care that ensures women are supported not just when pregnant but also when they become new parents.