Furness General Hospital

University Hospitals Of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust

Last updated: 13 Aug 2018

South Lakes Birth Centre

Contact & visitor information

You will be cared for by midwives with medical facilities and doctors on hand if you need them.

a very small unit

1050

births from Apr 2016 to Apr 2017

F2B5C510-C67C-49CA-9F03-41B274979781

15

Labour rooms available

  • Epidural
  • Birth pools available
  • Special Care Unit (SCU)
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South Lakes Birth Centre provides midwifery and consultant led care within the same unit.

Birth choices labour ward

Pain-relief options

  • Entonox (gas and air)
  • Diamorphine
  • Meptid
  • Morphine sulphate (Oramorph)
  • Pethidine
  • Remifentanil
  • Sterile water injections
  • Epidural
  • Birth pool
Find out more about pain relief during labour

Having a baby here

During labour and birth

  • If you arrive in the early stages of labour
    • You'll be seen by a midwife who will check the progress of your labour
    • You'll be encouraged to go home
    • There's an area where you can be assessed
  • Birthing rooms
    • 15 labour rooms
    • 4 Birth pool(s)
      • 0 Inflatable birth pool(s)
      • 4 Plumbed-in birth pool(s)
  • Birth partners
    • The limit depends on the individual circumstances
    • You can have the following number of birth partners with you during labour: 2

Birth facilities

  • Aromatherapy service
  • Bean bags
  • Birth balls
  • Birth mats
  • Birthing couch
  • Dimmable lighting
  • iPod dock
  • Reclining chair
  • Supporting rope or sling
  • TENS machine
  • Hypnobirthing / Natal hypnotherapy
  • Birthing stools
  • TV
  • Rocking chair

After you've given birth

  • Private postnatal rooms
    • Amenity rooms are not available.
  • Provision for partners staying overnight
    • Partners can stay in a room with you on a camp bed/sofa
  • Your stay after you've given birth
    • You'll be able to stay in the same room throughout your stay
    • Women who've had an uncomplicated birth usually stay for 24-48 hours after the birth
    • Contact & visitor information

How many midwives will I meet?

The maximum number of different midwives you're likely to see for antenatal appointments is 4 and for postnatal appointments it's 4.

You'll see the same midwives throughout your pregnancy and after your baby is born, but different midwives when you're in labour.

You will be allocated a named midwife at your booking appointment. The midwife is allocated to a GP surgery or children's Centre/health centre and will be the one normally providing all your antenatal care in that setting unless she is on leave. We offer one-to-one care in labour.

Find out about the benefits of knowing your midwife

Statistics

source
source
* We’ve adjusted the data where it’s based on a small number of women to ensure confidentiality
Compared to the national average, women were:
    What is your situation?

    Is this your first birth?

    Have you had a caesarean for a previous birth?

    Are you at a higher risk of complications?

    Clear answers

    Is this the best unit for you?

    Find out more about your local options and where you want to give birth

    Use our tool to find out

    Who can give birth here?

    • Catchment area
      • Women who live within the catchment area: Furness, South Cumbria and Lancashire
      • You can give birth here even if you don't live in the catchment area

    Support services

    • Accessibility
      • Wheelchair access to the wards and delivery suite
      • Limited mobility: individualised care planning.
      • Hearing problems: face to face interpreter.
      • Sight problems: individualised care planning.
      • Learning disabilities: individualised care planning, passport for care, learning disability liaison nurse.
      • Autism spectrum: individualised care planning, passport for care, learning disability liaison nurse.
    • Interpreting service
      • Language Line or face-to-face interpreter if pre-planned.
    • Specialist midwifery teams
      • Antenatal Screening
      • Bereavement
      • Diabetes
      • Perinatal mental health
      • Substance misuse
      • Teenage pregnancy
      • Vulnerable women
      • Health and wellbeing and safe active birth midwife.

    Women's experiences

    Reviews of this hospital

    Source: Care Opinion
    • Maternity ward

      Amazing care and fantastic service was scared at first but they set me right at ease within minutes of being there. Brilliant midwifes can't fault them one bit. Thank you so much for making my...

      by Anonymous, 05 May 2017

      Read on Care Opinion
    • Planned birth at Lancaster, but was turned away in labour and was rushed to Barrow

      I live in Ulverston and although Barrow is my nearest hospital, I had chosen to give birth in Lancaster through personal preference when the time came. I went into labour on my due date and my...

      by KT Bee, 30 Jan 2017

      Read on Care Opinion
    Source: CQC

    Care Quality Commission (CQC) Maternity Services Survey 2015

    Scores are for the NHS Trust that this hospital is part of.

    • Labour and birth

    • Staff

    • Care in hospital after birth

    • Labour and birth

      8.5/10

      About the same compared with other trusts

    • Staff

      8.6/10

      About the same compared with other trusts

    • Care in hospital after birth

      7.6/10

      About the same compared with other trusts

    General information

    • Tours
      • Phone the unit to find out about availability.
    • Breech baby
      • If your baby is breech you'll be encouraged to have a caesarean.
    • Non-NHS Care
      • Private maternity care isn't available here.
    • Neonatal care
      • Special care unit (SCU) provides neonatal care for babies in the local area who need extra support but who don't require high dependency care.
    • Food for partners out-of-hours
      • Vending machine
      • 24h use of kitchen facilities
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    • Contact information
    • How to book once you're pregnant
      Via your GP
      • Booking phone number: 01229 403838
      • If in labour call: 01229 403609
    • Outside space
      • Outside space is available for women in labour
      • Courtyard garden
    • Visiting information
      • Not applicable - No private rooms
      • 3-4pm, 7-8pm
    • Car parking for women in labour
      • Drop off outside entrance only
    • Parking
      • £1.20
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