Birth at Coventry hospital (UHCW) - Lucina birthing centre & Labour ward

Hey! I was low risk too so always had my birthing plan as the Lucina suite. You can have a tour around it if you call up or even drop by as I did and you can speak to the midwives too. The attitude towards labour there is very different to labour ward, it’s very positive, and studies do show that labours in birthing suites are quicker and less painful as they promote a very calm environment. All rooms do have beds, double beds, but they encourage you to be up walking about and all rooms have a very big birthing pool which they also encourage (both because of studies showing the benefits of these in labour). They don’t provide epidurals as there is no doctors on birthing suites, only midwives, so it is just gas and air. In the end I was a little bit high risk due to babies heart rate so they wanted me to be around doctors just in case. Was still my decision but I decided labour ward for safety. Labour ward is for everyone, low or high risk. But honestly, I couldn’t fault the care at

All. I was so supported by my midwife and doctors from start to finish. Everything was explained me to me at every stage. I didn’t have the epidural as I’d always said I didn’t want it and told my husband not to let me have it, but at one stage I did beg for it and the anaesthetist was in my room within 5 minutes, husband sent him away 😂. It all depends on what you want. The birthing suite is brilliant and had a completely different feel to the labour ward, I still carry some sadness that I didn’t get to give birth there. But I was unbelievably happy with the care I received on the Labour ward x

@Amelia Thank you SO much for your comments. That’s super helpful to hear of your own experience giving birth there. I’m incredibly nervous about it all and it’s always quite daunting when you read mixed reviews on google lol and your comments have helped reassure me so thank you! I’d love to be able to give birth in the Lucina suite as it seems a lot calmer and I love the way the rooms sound as I suffer with anxiety so I reckon it would calm me down, however I’m just worried I wouldn’t be able to just cope with gas and air. I really really want to try a water birth though so it’s definitely something to consider.

I was really nervous too as I’d read/heard some not very good experiences, but honestly all the staff were amazing. I’d recommend looking into hypnobirthing. It calmed my anxieties so much and The breathing techniques the course taught me kept me so so focused in Labour. Instead of focusing on the contractions I was just focusing on the breathing. I got panicky at the end as babies heart rate kept dropping so I lost my focus on the breathing and the contractions felt incredibly intense (which is when I asked for the epidural), luckily he was here 15 minutes later though. But if you’re in the birthing suite and you decide you absolutely want the epidural, they can transfer you over to the Labour ward it’s just next door, so you could maybe start in the Lucina and see how you get on x

@Leah if you’re worried about pain management you should try to arrange to speak to midwives at Lucina just to check what they offer now. But i’m sure they offer pethidine as well as gas & air and you can also buy your own Tens machine, it’s great for taking some of the edge 🙂 getting your partner to give lower back massages during labour is also meant to help (my hubby didn’t 😂)

Bit late to this but might be helpful, I wanted a natural water birth but was very anxious the same as you and thought I might feel safer on the labour ward. I told every member of staff I came into contact with at the hospital that I wanted a water birth. They do have lovely pool rooms in the labour ward itself but only a few so ring them as soon as you go into labour and tell them you’ll be coming in soon and you want a pool room. They had my name on the door to the room when I got there a few hours later. I think I told them a ridiculous amount of times I wanted a pool room so that might’ve helped my case 🤣 I spent a few hours in there but decided I wanted the epidural so they just got me on the bed a wheeled me to different room so someone else could have the pool and I got the epidural 🥰 I had the most INCREDIBLE care at UHCW, I honestly believe I wouldn’t have been looked after better if I had paid a lot of money. I can not fault the midwife’s and assistants on the labour ward

I was on labour ward for over 24hrs, I think I saw 3/4 staff change overs and every single person I came into contact with was amazing. So kind and so knowledgeable and gave me so much confidence to just let go and know I would be looked after. The midwife who was with me for her whole shift, her shift was ending as I was about to push, and she looked at my other half, and said I’m not going anywhere ❤️ the anaesthetist was the kindest man I ever met, I didn’t even feel my epidural being put in, and he came to check on me multiple times, during and after my delivery. I’ve since found out they were incredibly busy and short staffed on this day. It’s been 16 months and I’m still so grateful and in awe of the staff there. You’ll be fine mama ❤️❤️❤️

@Abi Thank you SO much for your comments. It really puts my mind at ease hearing stories like this. I’m so pleased you had a positive experience there during your birth. I’m so nervous about it and this has definitely helped. Thank you!!

Hi Leah. So where did you have your birth and how was it? Asking cos I am in the same shoes as you right now

@Bolanle JEA Hi, I’ll send you a message! X