Northampton midwifery hub bringing service back to community

A new service for parents-to-be has opened as part of a drive to bring antenatal services back into the community following the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The community midwifery hub in Moulton Park, Northampton, will serve about 600 families.

It is one of four local community services including in Northampton town centre, Far Cotton and Daventry.

One of the first users said it felt "very safe to come here".

Before the pandemic, community midwife appointments were held in GP surgeries.

The risk posed by the disease meant that those consultations were suspended and care was delivered from hospitals or in temporary hubs.

Northampton General Hospital said reviving the community approach was considered "best practice" for the NHS.

Ioana Trofin, 28, from Northampton, is 17 weeks pregnant with her first baby and is using the Moulton Park hub.

She said: "This is my first child and I come from Romania so I have no family around to support me.

"[The hub] has made me feel very safe to come here and ask the midwives all of those silly questions a first-time mum asks, but which have been very important to me."

The hub has six clinical rooms hosting midwifery, maternity support workers, and phlebotomy clinics, and cost £360,000 to create, the hospital said.

Among the services offered are antenatal check-ups, classes and support after birth.

Northampton General Hospital's director of midwifery Ilene Machiva said: "The hub is a place where people can connect with their named midwife and have access to all the specialist care and advice we provide.

"One really important message is for mums to refer themselves to us directly as soon as they are pregnant.

"This does not automatically happen through GPs anymore."

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