Postnatal information

Ivy Team: 01223 596212

Lilac Team:01223 348794

Emerald Team: 01223 586787

Nova Team: 01223 586790

Rose Team: 01223 349316

Eden Team: 01223 349376

Sienna Team: 01223 349314

Trinity Team 01223 348943

This leaflet contains QR codes and website links for further information. If you do not have easy access to the Internet please let your midwife know and we will provide you with further printed information before your discharge home.

Follow up care in the community

A midwife will visit you at home the day after you leave the hospital. They will not routinely call you before this visit. However if you have not had contact from a community midwife by 16:00 (4pm) on the day after you go home. please contact the hospital area you were discharged from:

• Lady Mary Ward: 01223 217667
• Delivery Unit: 01223 217217
• Rosie Birth Centre: 01223 217003
• Charles Wolfson Ward: 01223 254668

The midwife will discuss future postnatal visits or clinic appointments that you will need according to your individual circumstances. Some postnatal appointments are held at the Rosie Birth Centre. Routine postnatal visits with the community team will not appear as appointments on MyChart.

If you have been told that you require a postnatal follow-up appointment at the Rosie Hospital for you or your baby, this will be sent to you in the post. If any of your test results are outstanding when you go home (for example vaginal swabs or blood results such as fetomaternal haemorrhage for women whose blood group is rhesus negative), your GP or a hospital-based midwife will notify you if these are abnormal. Please be aware that if a midwife contacts you via telephone the call will display from a withheld number.

MyChart (opens in a new tab) allows you to view your own appointment details, clinical correspondence and test results on your smartphone, tablet or computer. Please ask your midwife if you would like to sign up for this.

Newborn blood spot screening

When your baby is five days old you will be offered the newborn blood spot screening, to find out if your baby has any of nine rare but serious health conditions. Before your day 5 visit, please scan the QR code with your smartphone to read the Guidance on Blood Spot (opens in a new tab).

BCG vaccine

If you have been offered a BCG vaccine for your baby, this will be administered by the Community and School Aged Immunisation Service (CSAIS) when your baby is around four weeks old. They will contact you to arrange an outpatient appointment at a local clinic. If you have not heard from the CSAIS team by the time your baby is four weeks old, please contact the Rosie screening team on 01223 348666.

After your baby’s birth – information booklet

Please scan the QR code with your smartphone to view the information booklet. This link will also allow you to view the postnatal discharge DVD.

This booklet includes information on:

• Your wellbeing and follow-up care
• Your emotional health and wellbeing
• Signs and symptoms of infections and deep vein thrombosis
• Bladder and perineal care
• Caesarean section after care
• Pelvic floor exercises
• Feeding your baby
• Screening tests for your baby
• Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
• Jaundice
• Birth registration
• How to arrange a birth afterthoughts appointment if you wish to discuss and understand what happened during the birth of your baby

Alternatively, you can view the After birth information booklet and postnatal discharge DVD.

Helping you recognise and manage signs and symptoms requiring emergency, urgent and non-urgent action

Although serious complications are rare after having a baby, it is important that you are able to recognise when you need to seek urgent help and advice for you and your baby in emergency and urgent situations. It is also useful to be able to recognise when self-help measures or a ‘wait and see’ approach can be used, whilst taking simple measures such as paracetamol.

Postnatal infection may present with fever, pain or increased/ offensive vaginal bleeding, but also with symptoms such as diarrhoea, sore throat or shortness of breath. It is important to wash your hands both before and after using the toilet and to change your sanitary pads regularly to decrease the risk of infection associated with stitches. If you are concerned that you may be developing an infection, it is important that you seek medical advice early.

Infant feeding checklist

Your midwife or maternity support worker will go through the feeding checklist with you before you go home. If you have any questions or are not sure about any of the things listed below please ask your midwife. You will also find some of this information in the ‘Mothers and others guide’, if you do not already have a copy of this please ask for one before you go home.

Whether your baby is breast fed or formula fed, we recommend offering your baby a feed when they show signs of being hungry, such as moving their head and mouth around and bringing their hands to their mouth, rather than waiting for a set amount of time to pass before offering another feed.

Breastfeeding assessment

If you are breastfeeding you may find the following questions helpful to assess how effectively your baby is breastfeeding. Answers in the left column are reassuring and indicate that your baby is feeding effectively. Answers in the right column may suggest a problem, if you find you are saying yes to any of the answers in the right column please discuss this with your midwife within the next 24 hours.

Feeding chart

Your midwife will ask you about your baby’s feeding in order to ensure that your baby is feeding effectively, you may find it helpful to complete the feeding chart that you will find on this page when you go home so you have a record.

Infant feeding support

The Rosie Infant Feeding team can be contacted on 01223 596292 (voicemail service) or by email for non-urgent support Monday to Friday 09:00 (9am) to 17:00 (5pm).

The National Breastfeeding helpline is also available daily 09:30 to 21:30 (9.30pm) on 0300 100 0212. Please scan the QR code with your smartphone to view the infant feeding support page on the Rosie website for up-to-date information on infant feeding support that is currently available locally. Alternatively, you can visit the infant feeding support page on the Rosie website.

Infant feeding audit

You may be contacted by telephone by the Infant Feeding team after you have been discharged for audit purposes. Audit supports the staff to understand your experience of care in our hospital and can help to identify areas for improvement. You can decline to participate in the audit over the telephone or opt out by letting your midwife know you do not wish to be contacted.

Jaundice

Many newborn babies develop jaundice. Most of the time, this is harmless and usually clears up on its own within 10 to 14 days. If your baby has jaundice, their skin and eyes will look slightly yellow. If your baby has dark skin, the main sign may be a yellowing in the whites of the eyes or inside the mouth.

Jaundice is caused by too much bilirubin in the blood. Bilirubin is a chemical in the body that is produced naturally when red blood cells are broken down. Newborn babies produce large qualities of bilirubin in the first few days of life. It is normally processed in the liver and passed out of the body in stools.

For the vast majority of babies, jaundice does not cause any long-term problems. However, if you think that your baby has jaundice, it is always best to let your midwife or doctor know, as sometimes treatment will be required. On rare occasions, the amount of bilirubin in a baby’s blood is so high that it has the potential to cause long-term problems such as hearing loss or cerebral palsy, particularly if left untreated. But this is very rare, and with the right treatment this small risk is reduced even further.

For more information about jaundice please scan the QR code with your smartphone, or visit Jaundice in newborn babies.

Personalised feeding plan

Please use this space to document any further advice you have been given about feeding your baby:

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Safe sleeping

• Always put your baby on their back to go to sleep.
• Your baby should sleep in the same room as you until they are at least six months old.
• Keep your baby’s sleeping space clear, do not put pillows, cot bumpers or toys in their cot.
• Your baby should not wear a hat when they are sleeping inside your home.
• Place your baby with their feet to the foot of the cot, to prevent them from wriggling down under the covers. Tuck in blankets firmly so that they go no higher than your baby’s shoulders.
• If your baby falls asleep on another surface, such as a car seat or bouncer, you should move them to a firm flat surface as soon as possible.
• Do not put yourself in a position where you could doze off with your baby on a sofa or armchair.
• Do not let anyone smoke in the same room as your baby, ideally no one should smoke inside your home. If you or anyone in your family needs support to give up smoking speak to your midwife, health visitor or GP to find out about support that is available locally.

Room temperature

It is important to make sure your baby is not too hot or cold. Ideally, the room temperature should be between 16 and 20 degrees Celsius. It can be difficult to judge the temperature in a room, so use a room thermometer in rooms where your baby sleeps and plays.

Advice on room temperature is intended as a guide. Every baby is different, so while it’s important to be informed about overheating, you need to check your baby regularly to see if he or she is too hot. Feel the baby’s tummy or the back of their neck (your baby’s hands and feet will usually be cooler, which is normal). If your baby’s skin is hot or sweaty, remove one or more layers of bedclothes.

Physiotherapy

The physiotherapy team can be contacted on 01223 217422 (answerphone service).

Please scan the QR code with your smartphone or visit the link below to view the leaflet Fit for the Future – essential advice and exercises following childbirth (opens in a new tab).

Mental illness in the postnatal period

One in five women may develop mental illness during pregnancy and up to one year after giving birth. This may be related to mental illness that existed before pregnancy and worsened during this period. Some women may develop mental illness for the first time. If untreated, this can have a significant impact on women and their families. Examples of this include: postnatal depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), postpartum psychosis and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Pregnancy and birth bring great changes and challenges to both you and your partner. This can impact your emotional wellbeing, especially if you partner is facing difficulties and/or mental illness during pregnancy. It is important that you look after your own wellbeing, while supporting your partner during and after the pregnancy.

If you feel you need additional support, you should contact your GP, midwife or health visitor who can arrange for additional psychological support.

For additional information and sources of support, please scan the QR code with your smartphone or visit the Rosie maternal wellbeing and mental health page.

Feedback

We are interested in hearing about your maternity experience.

Please scan the QR code with your smartphone to launch four maternity surveys; antenatal, birth, postnatal and postnatal community. You can choose which surveys you want to complete to share your maternity experience. Alternatively, you can use the link below to provide your feedback via the Rosie website:

Maternity Surveys

You can also provide feedback to our Rosie Maternity and Neonatal Voices group, visit their website for more information and to complete their survey:

Rosie Maternity and Neonatal Voices (opens in a new tab)