Barking Birth Centre antenatal care
Choosing our birth centre
We provide you with a relaxed environment to give birth
The Barking Community Birth Centre is staffed entirely by midwives and provides a relaxed home-like environment for pregnant women and people who have had a straight forward pregnancy.
We help to deliver thousands of babies every year and are very proud of the services and high-quality maternity care we provide.
We welcome people from across the London boroughs of Newham, Barking, Havering, Redbridge and other surrounding boroughs, including Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest. We are also very happy to care for women and pregnant people from other parts of London and Essex to come and give birth at our birth centre.
All of the staff you meet during your care with us should introduce themselves and carry an identification badge. Please do not be afraid to ask for a person’s name or role if you do not know who they are.
Antenatal care and classes
Antenatal care is the care you get from health professionals during your pregnancy. It's sometimes called pregnancy care or maternity care.
Depending on your individual needs, your antenatal care will be based at either a children’s centre or a GP surgery where our community midwives have a clinic, or at an antenatal clinic in our hospital. It will all be provided in line with current NICE guidelines and appointments will be tailored to meet your individual needs.
If your pregnancy is considered low-risk, your midwife at the birth centre will provide all aspects of maternity care. If problems arise during your pregnancy, they will refer you to the hospital team, but they will always be on hand for advice and support.
You will also be offered all relevant scans, including the 20-week scan, and screening tests during your pregnancy to check on your baby’s health and identify if there are any health conditions that could affect you or your baby.
We offer screening checks for diabetes at our birth centre. If you test positive for diabetes, you will be referred to our specialist diabetes clinic at Newham Hospital.
Antenatal classes
Speak to our team or your midwife about the antenatal classes that we offer at Barking Birth Centre.
Additional resources and information
Your birth
- Pain relief in labour: how do the options compare[pdf] 779KB
- Having an inpatient induction of labour[pdf] 1010KB
- Having an outpatient induction of labour[pdf] 1008KB
- Find out what delayed (or opitmal) cord clamping (DCC) is and how it can benefit you child
Your health
- Stopping smoking will help both you and your baby immediately. Speak to us if you would like support to stop smoking.
- Gestational diabetes is high blood sugar (glucose) that develops during pregnancy and usually disappears after giving birth.
Your pregnancy
- NHS Start for Life - Pregnancy
- Tommy's 'Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well'
- Find out the benefits of antenatal colostrum harvesting
- Advice for partners during pregnancy
Your baby
- NHS Start for Life - Baby
- HENRY early infant feeding support - for Waltham Forest residents
- This leaflet will provide you with important information about feeding your baby
- This Baby Buddy app is a free go-to pregnancy and parenting app developed by the UK charity Best Beginnings.
Safe sleep and baby carriers
- Caring for your baby at night and when sleeping
- How to reduce the risk of SIDS for your baby
- Wearing a baby sling or carrier
Other support resources
- Supporting you and your family during a bereavement