As part of your care plan, your midwife will talk to you about your options and preferences for giving birth.
Where you want to have your baby is a personal choice, which is why we offer many options on where you can have your baby at Morecambe Bay.
Local parents make a wide range of choices including pool births at home, birth in hospital with the support of an epidural, or caesarean birth.
Where can I give birth?
You can give birth at home, at a birth centre or in hospital.
Your options about where to have your baby will depend on your needs, risks and, to some extent, on where you live.
If you're healthy and have no complications ("low risk") you could consider any of these birth locations. For women with some medical conditions, it's safest to give birth in hospital where specialists are available. This is in case you need treatment during labour.
Wherever you choose, the place should feel right for you. You can change your mind at any point in your pregnancy.
Royal Lancaster Infirmary
The Central Delivery Suite is part of the Maternity Unit at Royal Lancaster Infirmary. It serves patients from North Lancashire and South Cumbria, offering comprehensive maternity care including antenatal, delivery, and postnatal services. This is the main transfer site from Helme Chase maternity unit in Kendal.
Facilities and Services
- Delivery Suite: Comprises seven birthing rooms, each equipped with adjustable electronic beds and en-suite bathrooms. There is also an active birth room with a birthing pool. There is access to telemetry for electronic fetal monitoring if required.
- Obstetric Theatres: Two dedicated theatres are available for planned caesarean sections and emergency procedures.
- Ward 17: This ward, which is on a separate floor to delivery suite, accommodates both antenatal and postnatal patients, with four bedded bays and private side rooms available as needed. Partners are welcome to stay overnight.
There is a level 2 Neonatal unit near maternity which provides care for babies born between roughly 27 weeks and 32 weeks who require higher medical support. If babies require further specialised medical and nursing support they are transferred to a Level 3 Neonatal unit.
South Lakes Birth Centre, Furness General Hospital
Maternity services at the South Lakes Birth Centre at Furness General Hospital (FGH) offer midwife-led and obstetric consultant-led care for both high risk and low risk women, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Within the new £12m South Lakes Birth Centre, there are fourteen labour, delivery, recovery and postnatal rooms, four of which have a birthing pool. There is also two dedicated operating theatres, a Special Care Baby Unit, a Maternity day assessment area, a Transitional Care facility, a skills lab for staff training, and a Bereavement Suite - the Rainbow Suite.
The pool rooms all have en-suite bathrooms, and are equipped with a variety of equipment, including:
• Low mattress
• Birthing stool
• Floor mats
• Birth balls
This equipment is designed to encourage your body to adopt comfortable positions during labour and birth.
Each of our birthing rooms at the South Lakes Birth Centre also has a bed for partners to stay over while supporting their partners and learning to care for their baby.
The South Lakes Birth Centre is located beside the main hospital building. There are limited drop off, blue badge, short stay and pay and display car parking spaces outside the South Lakes Birth Centre, as well as a bus stop within the main hospital grounds.
South Lakes Birth Centre: 01229 403609
Helme Chase, Westmorland General Hospital
Helme Chase Maternity Unit is a midwifery led unit based on Level 3 at Westmorland General Hospital. We offer a calm, supportive environment for families with low-risk pregnancies who choose a midwife-led birth experience, with safety and comfort at its core. Care is provided by experienced midwives who offer one-to-one support throughout labour and birth. Our team are highly trained to manage emergency situations, ensuring your safety at every stage.
Should any changes or concerns occur during labour that require additional medical or obstetric support, a timely transfer to our nearest obstetric unit will be arranged to ensure you and your baby receive the appropriate care. With a focus on informed choice, continuity, and respect for your birth preferences, we’re here to support your journey every step of the way.
Helme Chase operates an on-call system out of hours (Monday-Friday, 5pm-9am, all day Saturday and Sunday, and Bank Holidays). During out of hours, please call the unit on 01539 795375 to be transferred through to Royal Lancaster Infirmary triage. The triage midwife will then contact our Helme Chase midwives and they can arrange to meet you at home or at the unit.
Helme Chase is located on the third floor of Westmorland General Hospital. There are lifts available and parking spaces directly outside the hospital.
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust offers a midwife-led home birth service for any person who is considering birthing in the comfort of their own environment. Each year, around 50 local families are supported to successfully birth at home. We recognise that home birth is an important choice of place of birth and aim to support any family who wish to explore this option further. We offer 24 hour on-call midwife cover for families who fall within the geographical areas of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust and have reached 37 weeks of pregnancy. Our on-call service is led by the community midwife teams at Lancaster, Kendal and Barrow with wider support, if required, from our obstetric teams at Royal Lancaster Infirmary and South Lakes Birth Centre (Furness General Hospital) together with emergency support from North West Ambulance Service.
If you are considering a home birth, please speak with your community midwife or any member of the maternity team for a supportive, informed discussion around your preferences, benefits and possible limitations of birthing outside of the hospital environment, on-call provision and transfer of care settings.