We can offer you one-to-one care during labour with a midwife who is highly experienced in caring for women in natural childbirth. Our midwives are skilled at identifying possible complications: your safety is paramount. If your midwife is concerned at any point about the safety of you or your baby she will transfer you to the John Radcliffe Hospital Women's Centre, Oxford, by ambulance. During labour your midwife will help you find comfortable, supported upright and forward-leaning positions as labour progresses, using equipment such as a bean bag, floor mattress, birthing pool or birth ball. Massage, aromatherapy, TENS, Entonox (gas and air) and pain relieving Meptid injection are also available, should you need them. If you would like to have your baby here:
your pregnancy should be straightforward
you should not have any medical or obstetric problems
you should go into labour at between 37 and 42 weeks. If you do not meet the above conditions but you still wish to have your baby with us, or at home with our support, please speak to one of our supervisors. If you live outside Oxfordshire but you are thinking of having your baby at the Wallingford Birth Centre, please discuss this with your local community midwife. You will need to make an appointment to see us, and you may want to come and have a look around. After the birth
If you wish, we make sure you have skin-to-skin contact with your baby and help you to breastfeed soon after the birth. Our unit has been awarded the UNICEF Global Baby Friendly Award for our commitment to helping mothers breastfeed. We will also help you to look after your baby. The length of your stay may vary from just a few hours to a couple of days depending on your needs. Our aim is that you leave the unit feeling rested and confident in caring for your baby. Some mothers like to transfer to the Wallingford Birth Centre for their postnatal care shortly after giving birth in the delivery suite at the John Radcliffe Hospital Women's Centre. After you return home you may phone our 24 hour advice line for any concerns. Tel: 01491 826037
Other support we can give you includes home visits, breastfeeding support or return visits to the ward should you wish to come back and see us for help. Find us and contact us
Wallingford Birth Centre
Wallingford Community Hospital
Reading Road
Wallingford OX10 9DU
Tel: 01491 826037
