Maternity Services at Newcastle Hospitals

27/02/2026

👶Have you booked your free antenatal classes? Booking links in the comments.

👶Held in four locations across Newcastle, and hosted by our friendly, knowledgeable team, three sessions are offered:

🤰🏿Labour and birth
Signs and stages of labour
Pain relief options and types of birth
Your care after birth, plus lots more

🤰Comfort and care
Preparing for baby and packing your bag
Holding, bathing, and dressing a baby
Car seat safety, and lots more

🤰🏾Baby practical
Bonding with your baby, skin-to-skin
Breastfeeding and safe sleep
Understanding baby’s needs, plus lots more

👶When you book a ticket, it will admit you and one other person. You can book onto one, two, or all three classes.

25/02/2026

Visiting times update. Link to more info in the comments.

25/02/2026

24/02/2026

👶Test your baby for 200+ genetic conditions as part of the generation study, which is taking place at our maternity unit at the Royal Victoria Infirmary.

With consent from parents, we'll take a blood sample from the umbilical cord shortly after birth to test for a range of conditions.

The blood sample is then sent to a laboratory for analysis and results are reviewed by an NHS scientist.

If your baby is identified as having a condition, you'll be offered further testing to confirm a diagnosis, and ongoing support and treatment from the NHS.

If you'd like to find out more, email nuth.generation@nhs.net, call 0191 282 9269, or visit the study website: https://www.generationstudy.co.uk/

The study is led by Genomics England.

23/02/2026

23/02/2026

🤱Did you know there is a national breastfeeding helpline?

👶🏾0300 100 0212

👶🏼It's open and ready for your call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

🤱This is a brilliant service if you, or someone you know, is struggling.

👶🏾They offer friendly, non-judgemental, breastfeeding and infant feeding support and information to anyone in the UK who needs it.

18/02/2026

🤰🏾We run a drop-in pregnancy vaccination hub at the RVI.

🤰🏼The vaccination hub runs Monday to Thursday from 8.30am to 7.30pm. On Fridays, it is open from 8.30am to 4pm.

🤰🏼You can call ahead on 0191 2829939, or just pop in.

👶🏻It is closed on bank holidays.

🤰🏽If you have missed any of your three pregnancy vaccinations, you can use the drop-in service at the RVI, or ask your midwife about vaccinations when you see her.

👶🏾All the vaccines are free, and all the vaccines are safe for you and your baby.
Links in the comments. 👶🏻

16/02/2026

😍Here’s some lovely feedback from Fay, who had her baby girl with us back in December 2024. Shared with permission. 🥰

“I just returned from maternity leave having had a brilliant experience both antenatally with my midwife, Leah Hodgson, and at the Birth Centre - I think we were one of the first through the doors when it reopened in December 2024!
We had an amazing experience from start to finish. Our midwife Alix was brilliant and it was just a dream to use the Birth Centre again (I was desperate for another water birth so was so happy that’s what happened 🙂).
All the staff we came into contact with when our daughter Leni was born were outstanding.
We also spent a night on Ward 34 when we were readmitted from home so we could focus on her feeding and get her birth weight back on track. That night saved me, I'm sure! The staff were so kind and helpful but also gave us space to get the hang of feeding together too – a lady called Tarryn was particularly lovely to us.
Finally, I met with the infant feeding team who were just so helpful in helping us get on our way. The loan pump was a god send too! Still feeding now which I don't think I would have believed in those first tricky days.”

16/02/2026

Some useful thoughts from The Breastfeeding Network (UK) for women breastfeeding and fasting during Ramadan, and for the healthcare workers supporting them.

With Ramadan beginning this week, today we're sharing some information from our guest blog post - Supporting Breastfeeding During Ramadan.

"As peer supporters, we have great duty in supporting mums to feel empowered to achieve their goals by giving information so their decisions are informed. Supporting mothers during Ramadan is no different to helping mums reduce factors that may have a negative impact on their breast feeding or supply.

Things to consider are:

✨Mums will need to eat high nutrient dense food such as date, fruits and nuts to help replace the magnesium, zinc and potassium levels that may reduce during fasting.

✨Avoid drinking too many caffeinated drinks and replace with water, fresh fruits juice, herbal teas and green smoothies.

✨If a mum is fasting during the winter months which can fall between 10/12hrs of fasting, this is much easier as the sunset is much earlier and they have a longer period to eat and drinking during dawn. So really its like having a very late lunch.

For peer supporters who are not Muslim or who may not know much about Ramadan, it is imperative to keep in mind that choice should always be at the forefront of any breastfeeding journey and the support we provide will very much be based on an individual case by case basis. It’s also okay to say I’m not sure and signpost/refer mums to other sources for more information.

For more information on breastfeeding during Ramadan, click here: https://breastfeeding.support/breastfeeding-during-ramadan/"

Full blog post: www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/breastfeeding-during-ramadan/

EDIT - Fasting while breastfeeding is not an expectation, but you can choose to if you wish, and it is safe for you to do so. If you are considering fasting while breastfeeding, you may find it helpful to talk a health professional.

Please remember, if you need breastfeeding support, our National Breastfeeding Helpline UK is available 24/7 💜

You can also find out if we have a service near you on our website:
www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/drop-in-centres-map/

✨Please share✨

[ID: Breastfeeding during Ramadan. Image of a mum cuddling her baby.] Outlines of lanterns. Purple background.]

15/02/2026

📖Babies don’t come with a manual, but they do work hard to be understood.

👶🏽Their body language, facial expressions, noises, and cries are all their ways of telling you what they need.

👶🏻Find tips and advice at