B & A has:
- 17 birthing rooms, all with ensuites
- 4 birthing rooms with baths (there are no birthing pools at MMH)
- 5 assessment rooms
- 4 multi-purpose flexi-rooms; can be birthing or assessment rooms.
Do I have to call anyone before I come?
- You might have talked to your LMC or named midwife about the pain/symptoms you have.
- You might have called B & A and talked to a midwife.
- You may decide to come straight to B & A and speak to someone when you get here.
All of these are fine. B & A is open 24 hours a day, every day – we never close.
Why would I come to B & A if I am not in labour?
- There are a number of reasons why you may visit B & A before labour. We are like an emergency department for pregnancy problems from 20 weeks (about 4 ½ months) until 6 weeks after the birth. Women having their labour induced (started) also come here.
- And just like an emergency department, you can sometimes wait a long time to be seen. This is because the staff and rooms are all busy. Because this is behind a door it may feel like nothing is happening. You have not been forgotten and the staff know you are waiting.
You will find descriptions of the more common reasons to come to B & A when not in full term labour in the 'Procedures / Treatments' section of this page.
What are the rooms like?
When you are in labour you have a single birthing room with its own bathroom. The bathrooms have a shower and toilet and a few have a bath. We do not have any birthing pools.
When you are not in labour you may share a room with one other woman. The bathrooms are close by.
We have tried to make the rooms as nice as possible by keeping some equipment in cupboards but there are some things we have to keep ready.
The bed is in the middle of the room so that if you are on the bed your midwife can move all around you.
What should I bring?
You might want to have a bag all prepared for your hospital stay. A good idea is to have this ready from 36-38 weeks. You will need:
- your pregnancy notes
- any tablets or medicines which you take regularly including inhalers
- changes of underwear - bring lots
- clean clothing and nightwear
- something to wear in labour (or you can wear one of our nighties) - this should be something you do not mind getting messy and that opens up the front
- clothes to take your baby home in
- sanitary pads (maternity) - your blood loss is heaviest in the first couple of days
- car seat/capsule for baby
- toiletries for you
- formula, bottles and teats if you plan to bottle feed.
You may also want to bring:
- mobile phone
- camera
- loose change for vending machines
- pump bottle - we have plenty of cold water
- clothes for baby - we have singlets and wraps but you may prefer to dress baby. Make sure these do not get into our washing bags as they are never found again
- book, magazines, gameboy, puzzles
- pen and paper
- anything you have chosen to help in labour such as music, massage oils etc
- disposable nappies.
What you should not bring:
- anything valuable - theft is not uncommon in any hospital
- lots of stuff - there is limited storage space and you can always get things brought in later
- towels and flannels - we supply them
- toiletries for baby - plain water is best in the first few days.
Labour and birth
Labour can be a scary time for any about-to-be mother whether it is the first time or the tenth. We are here to support you. You may have a LMC midwife who is with you or you may have had care from one of our community midwives and so the midwives on duty will provide your care. Whatever the care and however you birth, our aim is to support you and make sure you understand what is happening.
Sometimes we may find you are in early labour, or we may think this when we speak to you on the phone. Early labour is a time when your body is building up to labour and it can last for some hours. We usually encourage you to be at home because we know that your labour is more likely to go smoothly.
B & A offers a number of different pain relief choices.
Types of birth
- Spontaneous Vaginal Birth – spontaneous means without help. This is when you push baby out by yourself. It is the most common sort of birth and it may also be called ‘normal’.
Ventouse, Forceps and Caesarean sections are performed by specialist doctors only.
- Ventouse – this is a small cup that applies suction to baby’s head when a good seal is made. This is often used for babies who are not too far away but need a little help. It can be because you are really exhausted, baby is becoming tired or baby is in a bit of a difficult position. Your baby will have a bruise on the top of his/her head for a few days.
- Forceps – this is a pair of metal ‘spoons’ which look a bit like salad tongs. They are curved to fit around the baby’s head. This may be chosen rather than the ventouse because baby is not quite as near to the exit or because he/she is unhappy. A forceps birth can be quicker than a ventouse.
- Caesarean Section – this is an operation where your baby is birthed through a cut in the uterus. The uterus is the muscle bag which holds the baby, placenta and the fluid. It is very good at growing and, in the later stages of pregnancy, a lower part or segment will form. This is where the cut is usually made and you may hear the operation called a lower segment caesarean section or LSCS.
It is important that everything is kept very clean during any operation to try and stop any infection. This is why we take you to the operating theatre. This is a big room with lots of equipment. There will be quite a lot of people too. On average there will be 8 to 10 people, each with their own job to do.
The bed is narrow and we tilt the bed to the side. This is so you can lie flat without it squashing the blood supply to your baby. Do not worry, we will not let you fall.
Most women stay awake for their LSCS and have an epidural type anaesthetic which makes you numb from the breasts down. While you may feel some pulling in your tummy, you should be pain free. Once the doctors begin it is a very short time until baby is born. As long as both you and your baby are well after the birth, you can hold him/her skin-to-skin. If you do not feel up to it, your supporter can have baby skin-to-skin.
Once the operation is over you will spend up to an hour in the recovery area. Often baby will have his/her first feed there. From here you will go to Maternity Floor.
Some women have a planned or 'elective' caesarean section.
Placenta/whenua
Postnatal
Your new son or daughter has arrived! Skin-to-skin together helps baby to get his/her breathing and temperature settled. Your baby will also start to look for the first feed. No matter what sort of birth you have, or how you want to feed, now is the time to start getting to know your little one.
You might choose to go home after 4 hours as long as all is well with you and baby and the birth has been normal. Or you may want to stay a while. There are only a limited number of beds on Maternity Floor. If you have no problems you may be encouraged to transfer to one of the three Primary Birthing Units; Pukekohe, Papakura and Botany Downs - see links below.
Women who have had a normal birth usually stay anything between 4 hours and 2-3 days.
If vaginal swabs showed that you carried a bacterium called Group B Streptococcus after 35 weeks pregnant we will give you antibiotics into a drip in your arm when you are in labour. This is to protect the baby. This bacterium usually does mothers no harm but can make babies really sick. How many of the 4 hourly doses you have and how long before your baby's birth is what decides whether you can go straight to a Primary Birthing Unit or home. See more information and pamphlet below.
If you have had a LSCS you will usually have a total postnatal stay of about 3 to 4 days. You will go to Maternity Floor from recovery but some women transfer to a Primary Birthing Unit a day or so later meaning you can continue your stay in a quieter, more homely place.
We have three birthing units at Pukekohe, Papakura and Botany Downs.
Checking baby
After your baby has had a skin-to-skin cuddle and his/her first feed we will do a full check. This check makes sure baby has everything he/she should have in the right place! Your midwife will also check the heart beat, pulses and hips. If anything does not seem right your midwife will show you and explain what this means. Sometimes she will call a specialist nurse/doctor to check.
This is also the time when we will give the vitamin K if you would like baby to have it. Your midwife will have talked about this in one of your pregnancy checks.
What if I have questions or do not understand?
Please ask your questions or say you do not understand.
We may think we have explained something but it has not been in the best way for you. Tell us. We would much rather this than you feel scared or upset.
If you would like an interpreter, just ask.
