Updated Maternity Guidance – April 2021
City Hospital
During labour, one birthing partner is allowed to attend within the hospital premises.
The birthing partner is now also able to accompany the mother on scans/antenatal appointments and visiting across the maternity services. On arrival there will be a requirement to undertake a Lateral flow test (rapid COVID-19 test) before all antenatal appointments. This is also applicable when visiting the inpatient areas. The Trust is able to offer limited visiting on inpatient wards at time designated slots.
Please see our leaflet for further information on visiting.
For any questions or queries relating to your treatment please contact the SWB Maternity Coronavirus team at swbh.maternitycovid@nhs.net
Attending Sandwell Hospital and West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa maternity clinics
There is also a requirement to undertake a lateral flow test when attending these venues for both the mum-to-be and her partner, however this must be done prior to arrival.
Mums-to-be can receive a box of lateral flow tests, which must be carried out at home prior to appointments. If both parties record a negative result, they can attend (please let the team know if you cannot). Write your name and when the test was taken on the cartridge and take a photo of the test on your phone, with the details and result clearly visible. Please show this photograph to healthcare staff when you arrive.
Alternatively you can record the result on the NHS Test and Trace app and you will receive a text which you will need to show the staff at the hospital.
You can find a video about doing a lateral flow test at home below:
Please see our leaflet for further information on visiting.
For additional information about maternity care and other areas of care during the Coronavirus pandemic, please click here. You can find details of the modified maternity pathway here.
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Maternity care during the coronavirus outbreak
We understand that you will be worried about what Coronavirus means for you and your baby and we are doing all we can to help keep you, your baby and your family safe.
We are following updated guidelines on your appointments to ensure you continue to have the maternity care you need while reducing the risk from contacting Coronavirus. This means that you may have fewer face-to-face visits with your midwife and some of your appointments may be over the phone including your first booking appointment.
It is still very important that you attend any face–to-face appointments if you are requested to do so or take part in any telephone appointments. If you have a high temperature or a new persistent cough please ring for advice before you attend a face-to-face appointment.
If you need to attend hospital for an appointment (including for a scan) you will need to attend alone. No visitors are allowed on any of our antenatal or postnatal wards including the baby’s father. One birth partner is allowed during birth, but this must be the same person throughout and they will need to leave two hours following the baby being born.
If your baby is admitted to the Neonatal Unit one parent is allowed to visit and we ask that person to bring food etc. with them (the staff will heat it up for you if need be) to minimise the number of times you enter and leave the unit. Please follow the instructions on washing your hands before entering and leaving the unit. We have introduced a new system called vCreate which is an NHS Trusted Secure Video Messaging service that enables the nursing team to send you short videos and photos of your child, during those times when you’re unable to be on the unit.
Read our leaflet below for more information:
Read the leaflet in the following languages:
Bengali Kurdish Punjabi Romanian Tigrian Urdu
For advice on managing anxiety during pregnancy and after the birth during COVID-19, see the leaflet: Managing Anxiety in the Perinatal Period
Read the leaflet in the following languages:
Bengali Romanian Tigrian Urdu Kurdish Punjabi
You can find details of the modified maternity pathway here.
SWB Maternity Coronavirus email: swbh.maternitycovid@nhs.net
Following on from the announcement by the Government, please see the guidance for the general public here to help stop the spread of the Coronavirus (also referred to as COVID-19). This includes people of all ages – even if you do not have any symptoms or other health conditions.
You can only leave your home:
- to shop for basic essentials – only when you really need to
- to do one form of exercise a day – such as a run, walk or cycle, alone or with other people you live with
- for any medical need – for example, to visit a pharmacy or deliver essential supplies to a vulnerable person
- to travel to and from work – but only where this is absolutely necessary
Continue to stay at home if you have either:
- a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
To protect others, do not go to places like a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. Stay at home.
Only go outside for food, health reasons or essential work
- Stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people
- Wash your hands as soon as you get home
Anyone can spread the virus.
If you are worried about Coronavirus
The Coronavirus outbreak may cause you to feel anxious, stressed, worried, sad, helpless, overwhelmed, confused or angry. It’s important to remember it is OK to feel this way and that everyone reacts differently to different events.
You can find a number of tips to ease any anxiety and help your mental wellbeing here.
Testing
Testing will not be offered routinely to individuals staying at home.
Patients who require overnight admission to hospital should still be tested regardless of travel history if they present with
• either clinical or radiological evidence of pneumonia
or
• acute respiratory distress syndrome
or
• influenza like illness (fever ≥37.8°C and at least one of the following respiratory symptoms, which must be of acute onset: persistent cough (with or without sputum), hoarseness, nasal discharge or congestion, shortness of breath, sore throat, wheezing, sneezing)
Clinicians should be alert to the possibility of atypical presentations in patients who are immuno-compromised.
NHS 111
Up-to-date information can be found on http://www.nhs.uk/coronavirus. We expect the health service to be exceptionally busy in the coming days and weeks. If people have serious symptoms that they cannot manage at home they should use NHS 111 online. They should only telephone NHS 111 if they cannot go online.
If you have to isolate, NHS 111 can provide you with an isolation note if one is required for your workplace.
Full guidance on staying at home and away from others
You can find the latest information and advice from Public Health England at www.gov.uk/coronavirus with further information available on nhs.uk.
Like the common cold, Coronavirus infection usually occurs through close contact with a person with novel Coronavirus via cough and sneezes or hand contact. A person can also be infected by touching contaminated surfaces if they do not wash their hands.
Everyone is being reminded to follow Public Health England advice to:
- Always carry tissues with you and use them to catch your cough or sneeze. Then bin the tissue, and wash your hands, or use a sanitiser gel.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after using public transport. Use a sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoid close contact with people who are unwell.
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