Neath Port Talbot Hospital Birth Centre
Maternity services update, Home Births and NPT Birth Centre: 28th September 2023
We're delighted to announce that a £750,000 investment in maternity services including the recruitment of 35 extra staff will see the reopening of a birth centre and the reinstatement of home births in Swansea Bay over the next few months.
This comes two years after the midwife-led Neath Port Talbot Birth Centre was closed and the home birthing service suspended – both due to staffing shortages and pressures.
All available resources were focused on Singleton Hospital to ensure safe care could continue to be provided, in line with professional guidance from the royal colleges.
The health board reluctantly entered into this arrangement and recognised that it limited birth choice. It has been working hard behind the scenes to find a sustainable solution – which has now been achieved.
Board members heard at a meeting today (Thursday 28th September) that Swansea Bay UHB was investing £750,000 in hospital-based and community midwifery over two years.
This, coupled with changes to the way services are staffed, meant the Neath Port Talbot Birth Centre and the home birth service could be reinstated.
Previous attempts to recruit additional midwives were mostly unsuccessful because of a national shortage.
Now, however, Swansea Bay has succeeded in recruiting 21 midwives, a mix of newly qualified and experienced, who are due to start next month (November).
To find out more, please go here to read our full news story.
Maternity services announcement, Home Births and NPT Birth Centre: 23rd May 2023
Due to ongoing workforce pressures within our maternity services we unfortunately need to continue the temporary suspension of our home birth service, as well as the temporary closure of the Neath Port Talbot Birth Centre. This is to ensure we can maintain safe care. This decision has been made in line with the professional guidance from the Royal College of Midwives and Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
We appreciate this may cause disappointment, but please be assured the decision to suspend this service has not been taken lightly.
We would ask you make contact with us as soon as you have any signs of labour, which will help us plan your care.
Follow this link for contact details for each community midwife team.
You may wish to consider our Bay Birthing Unit in Singleton hospital. This is midwifery-led, with individual rooms and a real home-from-home environment.
Essential support partners are welcome to attend all settings when you have an initial assessment in labour.
Alongside Midwifery Unit (The Bay Birth Unit), is open 24 Hours 7 days a week. The Bay Birth Unit follows the same model of midwifery led care as home and freestanding midwifery unit, and is an option for many women. More information about this choice of birth setting is available by following this link to the Bay Birth Unit webpage.
We will be reviewing this situation every two weeks and will update you as soon as we have any changes. We would urge those families who have planned a home birth to make contact with their community midwife to discuss the options available.
The Welsh Government continue to provide guidance around COVID-19 and hospital visiting in Maternity and Neonatal Services. Follow this link for more information about hospital visiting guidance in maternity and neonatal services from Welsh Government.
We understand our service restrictions have undoubtedly had a big impact on your maternity journey and we thank you for your understanding and patience.
If you want to discuss anything around the announcement or your birth options, please contact your community team, the numbers for the teams should be on your maternity record or you can follow this link for contact details for each community midwife team.
Information about the different birth settings is available here.
Anyone wishing to book in for maternity care can do so directly with their community midwifery team (Mon-Fri 9-5pm). Contact numbers can be obtained from your GP or from our website.
Information around current visiting restrictions can be found by following this link.
See below for further information and useful links.
COVID-19 VISITING UPDATE: Please note our rules regarding hospital visits have changed. For the latest guidance on our visiting regulations, please visit this page.
Refreshments
Please avoid using our canteens at present. There are vending machines available on our sites if you need refreshments.
Please note that SBUHB supports a zero tolerance stance for any abusive behaviour towards staff due to variances in visiting guidance for different patient groups.
Useful Links
Go to the Swansea Bay Maternity Services Facebook page.
Online antenatal course
FREE across Wales. For everyone around the baby: Mums, Dads, Grandparents, friends and relations.
Understanding pregnancy, labour, birth and your baby - Available 24/7
For more information on how to access the free online antenatal course, please follow this link.
Let us welcome you to our Birth Centre at Neath Port Talbot Hospital.
We have six rooms plus a birthing pool. We're open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Midwives are on hand in our home-from-home unit to guide and support you through labour and birth.
Our experience tells us that families benefit from time together, so we encourage partners to stay in one of our double rooms.
Just a quarter of first-time mums and 8% of women who have birthed before are likely to need transferring to Singleton Hospital around the time of birth.
The majority of women that are transferred are for non-urgent, non life-threatening reasons. Transfer time is around one hour.
Need further help? This link takes you to a birth places decision leaflet.
Rydym yn croesawu gohebiaeth a galwadau ffôn yn y Gymraeg neu'r Saesneg. Atebir gohebiaeth Gymraeg yn y Gymraeg, ac ni fydd hyn yn arwain at oedi. Mae’r dudalen hon ar gael yn Gymraeg drwy bwyso’r botwm ar y dde ar frig y dudalen.
We welcome correspondence and telephone calls in Welsh or English. Welsh language correspondence will be replied to in Welsh, and this will not lead to a delay. This page is available in Welsh by clicking ‘Cymraeg’ at the top right of this page.