Last week I visted the new Midwifery Led Maternity unit (MLU) at the University Hospital of Wales with Assembly Health Minister, Dr Brian Gibbons. I have had an interest in maternity services since having my first child in 1999 and believe that it is importnant for new parents, mums in particular to have a choice in the kind of care they receive and the sort of environment they have their baby in.
I have recently become a member of the Maternity Service Users Group which is designed ot give expectant mums and others with an interest in maternity services an input into how they would like to see these services develop.
A very positive development over the last year has been the opening of the new MLU at the University Hospital. The new Unit provides for midwifery led care in labour and the unit has a number of new facilities such as a birthing pool (see the picture) and more comfortable, homely rooms where mums and dads can welcome their new arrival into the world and recover afterwards without the usual hussle bussle of a hospital ward!
The Unit provides and opportunity for delivery in a far less clinical environment and promotes delivery without clincial intervention. Of course this is not for everyone and so the Consultant Led Obstetric Unit is situated on the next floor in UHW. Brian Gibbons and I heard about the success of the Unit so far and met one of the mums who had delivered her first child, a baby boy, there that morning.
This new Unit will benefit mums in Cardiff North and further afiled but I would like to see these services develop even further and a key opportunity for this will be an entierly new unit which it is proposed will be built on the site in the next couple of years.
This will be a bit late for me as my next child is due to be born in just a few weeks. But I intend to make use of the new facilities in the MLU and if elected to the Assembly in 2007 it is certainly an issue which I would want to keep on the agenda.
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