Your birthing choices
You have a choice of the type of care you wish to receive in pregnancy, birth and after you have had your baby. Healthy Surrey provides details for the NHS maternity services in Surrey and the birthing environments provided by each hospital - read more about Healthy Surrey here.
Our maternity services recognises that people can choose to birth in the way that they wish. However, please note that a midwife will not attend your home if you choose to free birth. Our hospital is always open and if you speak to our team you will be advised to attend our maternity unit. If at any stage of your pregnancy you wish to discuss booking your pregnancy at the Royal Surrey and developing a personalised care plan that feels comfortable for you please email our team — rsch.maternitygovernance@nhs.net
An update on Entonox (gas and air) for pain relief
Although Entonox (gas and air), is considered safe for pregnant women and their babies, there can be health risks for staff who are repeatedly exposed to the gas without adequate ventilation.
Recent tests have identified high levels of exposure in some of our birthing rooms. As a duty of care to our staff, we have temporarily limited Entonox use to four rooms which have the appropriate ventilation.
This is a temporary measure while we investigate specialist equipment to improve the ventilation in the birthing rooms. Unfortunately we cannot confirm a timeline for resolving this issue, but we will provide updates as soon as we have them.
In the meantime we are working hard to provide access to Entonox when requested by transferring women to these rooms wherever possible. We are also able to offer a number of other pain relief options.
We apologise for any concern this may cause. Please read the FAQs here and contact us with any further questions.
Your Place of Birth Options with Royal Surrey Maternity Service
Planning where to have your baby is an important part of your preparation for parenthood, be this your first baby or fourth. Your midwife or doctor will support you in making the choices that are right for you and your baby. We believe that your birth environment should make you feel relaxed and in control. The experience and co-location of our birthing teams means that we can adapt your care and physical support should your circumstances change.
Royal Surrey maternity service offers you four birthing environments:
- At home.
- Midwife-led birthing suite.
- Obstetric-led birthing suite.
- State of the art maternity theatre - if you choose to have a caesarean birth, or require an assisted delivery including caesarean birth if your circumstances change.
