Maternity and Newborn services

About us

All our facilities are purpose-built, clean and modern with birthing pools available in all the birth centres and on the birth suite. 

Over 6000 women choose to have their babies at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) each year.   

We were the first Trust in the world to be awarded the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative Gold Standard accreditation in 2017. This means we consistently demonstrate best practice standards around infant feeding and relationship building within maternity services.  

We are committed to providing you with choice: 

• A choice of how to access your maternity care 
• A choice around the type of antenatal care you receive 
• A choice of where you give birth to your baby 
• A choice around where you receive care after the baby is born 

Your choice of place of birth includes the following: 

• Homebirth 
• Stand alone, midwife-led birth centres in Blackburn and Rossendale 
• Burnley Birth Centre, located next to the main maternity unit in the Lancashire Women and Newborn Centre at Burnley General Teaching Hospital 
• A Consultant-led birth suite located in the Lancashire Women and Newborn Centre at Burnley General Teaching Hospital 

Our Philosophy, Vision and Strategy for ELHT Birth Centres and Community Midwifery Care

Our Philosophy of care is founded on the belief that every woman’s pregnancy and birth journey is a unique, special and celebratory occasion.

Our Vision is to provide safe, personal and effective Midwifery care to all women and their families throughout the childbearing continuum; seamlessly supporting women from their first booking appointment, throughout labour and up to the final postnatal visit.

We aim to ensure women and their families are supported to make an informed decision regarding their intended place of birth and individual care plan.

All our birth centres Blackburn, Burnley and Rossendale offer a comfortable, friendly, ‘home from home’ environment to support the birthing journey. All the Midwives are experienced in supporting natural birth and wish to facilitate a positive childbearing experience for all women in their care.

Our Strategy is to advise and ensure women within East Lancashire are educated with regard to childbirth and the available birth options within the birth centres and homebirth setting. We endeavour to engage with our local communities in order to provide appropriate evidence based information to support individual birth choices.

Safety 

Our maternity services have been assessed by the Care Quality Commission and rated as good in all areas:  Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led.  

A new way to access your maternity healthcare records.

Find out more here.