Royal Berkshire Maternity and Neonatal Voices

26/11/2025

Sometimes pregnancy doesn't go according to 'plan', babies come early because they are ready or need to be born for a wide variety of reasons.

We have been speaking with parents this week whose babies needed to be born earlier. It may be an experience that is surprising, or a bit of a shock, or both.
Either way it's emotional for the birthing person and their partner.

Alongside Midwives, Doctors and Health Visitors, credible, sources of information are important, The Lullaby Trust is a great place to go for info, advice and support.

💜 Royal Berkshire NHS Maternity Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust Royal Berkshire Maternity: Homebirth Team

“No matter how much you prepare, you can never be fully ready for a premature baby.”

Leah’s baby, George, was born five weeks earlier than his due date.

“A tiny baby at 4.3 pounds, he was our little Christmas miracle! He stayed in neonatal intensive care (NICU) for a few days before we took him home on Boxing Day. We redid Christmas day shortly after, which was such a special day.” Leah told us.

“I found it hard to sleep at first and found myself staying up, watching him to check he was breathing. “

“I found The Lullaby Trust’s webpage about premature and low-birth weight babies really reassuring. George was really tiny and I found it so helpful to read specific information about how to keep him safe.”

Read Leah’s story in full 👉 https://bit.ly/4h93Oep

24/11/2025

💜 Thank you Donna, and ALL the amazing Maternity Support Workers at Royal Berkshire NHS Maternity Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust Royal Berkshire Maternity: Homebirth Team 💜

💜 It's people, like Donna, that give care and kindness and make a difference to families everyday 💜

Happy MSW celebration day to all of our maternity support workers, and especially to Donna from our homebirth team!! 🎉

Please do share in the comments any of your lovely feedback for Donna or any of our other maternity support workers!

24/11/2025

Denise and Maa-Yar will be visiting the Family Room on Iffley Ward this morning for breakfast.

It's a welcoming space for women, birthing people and partners to eat breakfast, spend some time chatting with other families, it was great to see the new Siblings Space.

They were there last week, gifting fruit and speaking with Service Users.
We are there to listen, we gather feedback to take back into maternity and neonatal services, celebrating what is working well with services and to work with Leads and Service Users to make improvements where needed.

Royal Berkshire NHS Maternity Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust

19/11/2025

Healthwatch Reading are reaching out to invite you to support an important piece of work being led by their service. They are currently running a survey to gather feedback from local people about their experiences using the NHS App.

Why this matters:
The NHS App is becoming a central tool for accessing healthcare services, from booking appointments to viewing medical records. However, we know that not everyone finds it easy to use or even knows it exists.
This survey is part of our contribution to the NHS 10-Year Plan and aims to influence how digital health tools are developed and delivered locally. The more voices we hear, the stronger the case we can make for inclusive, accessible healthcare

🔗 Survey link:
https://www.healthwatchreading.co.uk/post/have-you-used-the-nhs-app-tell-us-what-you-think

19/11/2025

💜 Welcome Joy to Royal Berkshire Maternity: Homebirth Team 💜

Royal Berkshire NHS Maternity Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust

Welcoming the newest midwife to join our homebirth family, Joy! 🏡✨️

"Hi I'm Joy, I am a registered midwife and nurse with over a decade of experience, starting my midwifery career in 2013 in my home country Nigeria!. I have been with RBH for over four years, beginning as a postnatal nurse before completing my midwifery degree in the UK. I have worked across all areas of maternity and now love being part of the Homebirth Team, where the continuity of care allows me to support birthing people throughout their pregnancy journey.

I am passionate about physiological birth, and I aim to empower and bring 'Joy' to birthing people during one of life’s most transformative moments. Outside work, I love to laugh and make memories with my family 🥰.

I am looking forward to supporting you all through your pregnancy journey."

19/11/2025

The next postnatal group will start on 13th January 2025. Do get in touch if you would like to join us.

17/11/2025

On we recognise and celebrate all neonatal babies and families wherever they are on their neonatal journeys. Particularly sending our lo...

17/11/2025

💜 This World Prematurity Day - as we reach out to parents on neonatal units everywhere with important messages from graduate neonatal families, 'that you are not alone', we also ask for feedback on your experiences of neonatal care, so that we can continue to ensure parents get the support they need at this very vulnerable time, to be the best parents around their premature or poorly baby's wires and monitors. Please share this with all your neonatal parent groups and communities you may be part of. Sometimes we don't know this was a families maternity journey. Thank you 💜

17/11/2025

Get • 💜 Today is World Prematurity Day 💜

A day to raise awareness and celebrate the tiniest fighters, their amazing families, and the incredible neonatal teams who care for them. This year’s theme, “Neonatal Voices,” reminds us how important it is to hear and share these powerful stories.

One of those stories is of Hayden and Tyler, who were born at 34 weeks and spent five weeks in Buscot and Transitional Care. After a challenging start, learning to feed and coming off oxygen, they’re now thriving one-year-olds - standing, giggling, and they’ve recently just started nursery! Their family are so grateful for everything Buscot do and for saving their boys 🩵🩵

We’d love for you to celebrate your Buscot graduate by sharing your own photos and stories — don’t forget to tag us so we can see them! 📸

You can also make a donation to BIBS this to help us continue supporting Buscot and every family who comes through their care: www.justgiving.com/campaign/bibsworldprematurityday2025 You’ll also find the donation link in our stories and highlights 💜

17/11/2025

Today is World Prematurity Day. Hear from Sarah Critchley, Chief Executive of BIBS (Babies In Buscot Support) who we are lucky to have supporting our tiniest patients and their families at the Trust.
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Hi I’m Sarah and we’re proud to be the Trust’s “Partner Charity”, working alongside the Royal Berks Charity. We are parent-led and care deeply about the families that follow in our footsteps. We support the babies, families and staff of Buscot Neonatal Unit and Transitional Care in maternity.

Founded 38 years ago, we connect experienced parents with those whose babies are receiving neonatal care, showing them the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ and providing special touches to help families feel cared for and hopeful.

Around 10% of local newborns need neonatal care and we aim to equip staff with top resources, training, and facilities to maintain high-quality care. We are guided by a single mission: keeping Buscot families S.A.F.E.

S is for Support: BIBS’ Family Support Worker offers emotional and practical help to families on the ward and after discharge. We also pay for an online diary service allowing families to follow their baby’s progress when they can’t be cotside, and private therapy for parents with the greatest mental health needs.

A is for Awareness: We promote awareness through our website, social media, and community outreach. We provide resources for families to help navigate their Buscot journey, and fund training for NHS staff.

F is for Facilities: We provide Family Rooms, and Parent Flats and some comforts for staff including a new sofa for the staff room one Christmas.

E is for Equipment: BIBS have funded numerous essential items such as incubators, ventilators, cardiac monitors, phototherapy, cerebral function monitors, and hospital-grade breast pumps.

My own Buscot “baby” is now a teenager, and after a decade leading BIBS, I see how much we’ve evolved. Our small but mighty team makes a lifelong impact for 100s of babies and their families each year, including a recent milestone - raising over £1million in the last decade alone. As we mark World Prematurity Day we look to the future as determined as ever.

16/11/2025

💜 October Stats from the Royal Berkshire Maternity: Homebirth Team 💜

💜Congratulations to all our families who welcomed their baby in October 💜

💜 The HomebirthTeam have restarted their coffee mornings, follow them on FB and look out for upcoming dates 💜

💜 If you are interested in a homebirth and want to find out more, or you have already had a home birth, everyone is welcome 💜

💜 It's a great chance to meet the midwives and chat to other parents 💜

🌟 October Statistics!!! 🌟

In October, we cared for 8 women in labour. We had 7 homebirths, and 1 woman was transferred into hospital during labour and the midwife stayed with her for the birth. 💜

Congratulations to all our families who welcomed their baby in October! 🎉🎃🍁

We have also restarted our coffee mornings, so keep an eye out for the upcoming dates. If you are interested in a homebirth and want to find out more, if you are already planning a homebirth with us, and if you have had a baby with us before - everyone is welcome! This is a great chance to meet the midwives and chat to other parents. ☕️🍰

12/11/2025

Closing in a weeks time!

We are recruiting for Parent and Community Engagement Leads to join the team to gather feedback within the community and input into key projects to improve maternity services.
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We're looking for people passionate about the work we do, they will be good communicators (and listeners!) and understand the importance Service User voice holds.

The role is on average 15 hours a month, there are opportunities to work less hours or more hours if you have availability, especially in the first six months.

We pay £20 per hour, on a self employed basis.

Take a look at our website for more info: https://www.royalberkshiremnvp.org/engagement-lead-role

If you have any questions about the role, about being self employed, or need more information or help with the application form, drop us a DM or email - always happy to chat.

To register your interest please complete the Google Form here:

https://forms.gle/EUVXFicQb92YGH6a7

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