A Spotlight On: Our Community Midwifery Team

What Community Midwifery services are offered across the Trust?

• Our Community Midwives provide antenatal clinics around Lewisham, Greenwich and Bexley aiming to keep care local to the woman’s home. A new drop in clinic now runs in Mothercare, Bexleyheath, on Thursdays from 11am-2pm. Any ante or post natal mother and baby (up to 28 days) can pop in and speak to a midwife here.
• Specialist antenatal care services are also provided such as diabetic clinics, HIV clinics and Vaginal Birth After Caesarean clinics. Monthly Supervisors of Midwives clinics provide a safe, supportive space for women to raise and resolve concerns about their current or a previous pregnancy with an experienced midwife, before they give birth or become pregnant again.
• Postnatal care is provided by midwives and support workers both at home and in community clinics. Vulnerable women receive enhanced care which includes services such as the Time Team - a perinatal mental health team.
• Community Midwives provide 24 hour home birth service for all women who book with the Trust. They also support the Lewisham Birth Centre and in the near future this will extend to the new Greenwich Birth Centre.
• The community midwives work in teams and each team has a birthing pool that can be loaned to the women free of charge. We triage low risk women in the community (8am-8pm) to avoid unnecessary admission to hospital and to offer the choice of home birth.
• Our current home birth rate is 2%. We have two midwives at each home birth. Last month 28% of the Lewisham births were in their Birth Centre.

Who’s Who?

Helen Knower Head of Midwifery Helen.knower@nhs.net	Susanne Chatterley Deputy Head of Midwifery Schatterley@nhs.net
Giuseppe Labriola Senior Matron for Community Midwifery Services, Birth Centres and Antenatal Clinics) - Lewisham, Greenwich and Bexley Giuseppe.labriola@nhs.net	Lynn Bayes Midwifery Matron (Community, Clinics and Birth Centre) Lewisham Site Lynn.bayes@nhs.net

How can the Community Midwifery Team be contacted?

Women can refer to our service by phoning the Direct Contact Number: 07787 841 986

Both women and medical professionals can send non-urgent question to Edie, our experienced and practicing e-Midwife by emailing LG.e-midwife@nhs.net.

She can also be contacted via Facebook and Twitter:
Facebook: Edie E-Midwife
Twitter: @e_midwife

If you need to speak to a midwife urgently you can do this by calling one of the numbers below:

University Hospital Lewisham:           
0208 333 3026 Delivery Suite (24hrs)

Queen Elizabeth Hospital: 
0208 836 4522/23 Delivery Suite (24 hrs)