Praise given to bid to bring more births back to Hartlepool

The team of midwives at the Rowan Suite at the University Hospital of Hartlepool has been fully operational from November 2020, taking bookings for women considered to be low risk.

Hartlepool Borough Council’s audit and governance committee has heard an increasing number of mums-to-be are being supported by the midwife-led team at the site and are looking to give birth in the town.

Between November 2020 and July 2021 there had been 12 births at the Rowan Suite and that more have occurred since.

There were also three home births in Hartlepool during that period.

The head of midwifery at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, Stephanie El- Malak, said: “It has been a challenge to get it up and running but we were determined to do it.

“One of the real benefits to our continuity care is about relationships and it’s about the relationships with our women and families.

“Having that positive word coming through, that’s really important.”

The suite hosts a team of six midwives providing pre and post-natal care with facilities including an active birthing room and a birthing pool.

From November 2020-July 2021 there had been 606 women recorded as being pregnant in Hartlepool, with just over 42% of them classed as low risk and therefore eligible for a potential birth at the Rowan Suite.

Cllr Brenda Loynes said: “I’d like to congratulate you for getting so far, there’s still a lot to do and I think a lot of the mums would rather have a consultant at the hospital, and I think that’s the next step to push for that.”