Antenatal care

For your postnatal care, our community midwifery teams cover the designated areas of Redbridge and Waltham Forest.

We use the continuity of carer model with the aim of ensuring that you receive dedicated support throughout your pregnancy and after your birth from the same team.

Caseloading
The Caseloading Team Midwives provide continuity of carer support from your booking appointment, antenatally, intrapartum wherever you decide to deliver and to postnatal care after your birth. These appointments are carried out in your own home for your convenience. The Caseloading Team will be transitioning into a Homebirth Team in the new year (2023).

Emerald Team 
The Emerald Team Midwives are based at Whipps Cross Community Hub and antenatal and postnatal clinics are held at:

• Chingford Health Centre, 109 York Road E4 8LA
• Silverthorn Centre, 2 Friars Close E4 6UN
• Handsworth Medical Practice, Handsworth Avenue
• Orchards Children’s Centre, Liston Way IG8 7BL
• South Woodford Health Centre, 114 High Road E18 2QS
• Hainault Health Centre, Manford Way Chigwell IG7 4DF

The Team covers E4,E18,IG8, and part of IG7. 

Diamond Team
The Diamond Team Midwives are based at Whipps Cross Maternity Hub and antenatal and postnatal clinics are held at:

• Wood Street Health Centre, 6 Linford Road E17 3LA
• Leyton Green Clinic, Leyton Green Road, E10 6BL
• Cyberlink Clinic, 51 Beaumont Road, E10 5DE
• Allum Medical Practice, Fairlop Road, E11 1BN
• Wanstead Place Clinic, 35 Wanstead Place, E11 2SW

 The Team covers parts of Waltham Forest, Redbridge and Out of Area (E10 ,E11). 

Opal Team
The Opal Team Midwives are based at Midwives are based at Whipps Cross Maternity Community Hub  and Antenatal and Postnatal clinics at:

• Cranbrook Children’s Centre, The Drive Ilford, IG1 3PS
• Aldersbrook Children’s Centre, Ingatestone Road, Wanstead, E12 5HE
• Redbridge Children’s Centre, College Gardens, IG4 5HW
• Hainault Health Centre, Manford Way, Ilford, Chigwell, IG7 4DF

The Opal Team covers parts of Redbridge (IG1,IG2,IG4,IG5,IG6). 

Topaz Team 
The Topaz Team Midwives are based at Whipps Cross Maternity Community Hub and Antenatal and Postnatal Clinics:

• Forest Road Medical Centre, 354-358 Forest Road, E17 5JL
• St James Health Centre, 47 St James Street, E17 7NH
• Comely Bank Health Centre, 46 Ravenswood Road, E17 9LY
• Wood Street Health Centre, 6 Linford Road, E17 3LA

 The Team covers parts of Waltham Forest, the E17 area. Each community midwifery team provides cover for the home birth service.

Ruby Specialist Team
The Ruby Specialist Team Midwives are based in the Antenatal Clinic at Whipps Cross Hospital.  The Team caseloads pregnant women with complex factors and aims to empower and support women throughout their pregnancy into parenthood.  They liaise with other multi-agency professionals to ensure that families are supported and have positive outcomes. 

Hospital Midwifery Team
If you have additional risk factors such as multiple pregnancy, you will be offered appointments to see the hospital midwives in the Antenatal Clinic.

Contact details

Clinic	When
Shared care (Mr Vimplis, Mr Wong, Ms Aref-Adib, Ms Oliver, Mr Visvanathan)	Monday mornings (alternate); Mon afternoons (alternate); Thursday mornings (alternate)
Preterm Birth (Ms Gorry)	Wednesday mornings
Multiple Pregnancy and Fetal Medicine (Ms Kotecha)	Monday mornings
Maternal Medicine including Joint Obstetric Haematology, Joint Obstetric Neurology (Ms Allen, Dr Wiles, Dr Theodoulou and Dr Pakozdi)	Monday afternoons
Perinatal Mental Health and Neurology (Mrs Thamban)	Wednesday afternoons
Previous 3rd/4th degree tears and High Risk Pregnancy (Ms Oliver)	Wednesday afternoons
Lotus Clinic - Female Genital Mutilation (Ms Oliver)	Wednesday afternoons (monthly)
Obstetric Anaesthetic Clinic (Ms Anaesthetist Oteri)	Monday afternoons
High Body Mass Index (Ms Ms Kotecha)	Tuesday afternoons (alternate)
Breech Clinic (Ms Gorry)	Monday afternoon
Preparing to breastfeed workshops All families can access online Whipps Cross Parent Education sessions  Waltham Forest families (residents of the borough) can also access community breastfeeding sessions via HENRY	Henry breast feeding support on the wards: Monday to Saturday Henry breast feeding support in the community: dates and venue:  January 2024 Thursday 11th  @ Chingford Family Hub 4-6pm Wednesday 17th @ Walthamstow Family Hub 1-3pm Thursday 25th @ Leytonstone Family Hub 4.30- 6.30pm February 2024 Thursday 1st @ Chingford Family Hub 4-6pm Saturday 3rd 10am-12pm -ONLINE Monday 5th @  Chingford Family Hub 9.30-11.30am Thursday 22nd @ Chingford Family Hub 4-6pm Tuesday 27th 9-11am -ONLINE Wednesday 28th  @ Chingford Family Hub 4-6pm March 2024 Wednesday 6th  @ Chingford Family Hub 4-6pm Thursday 7th  @ Leytonstone Family Hub 4.30 -6.30pm Thursday 14th @ Chingford Paradox Centre 4.30 -6.30pm Wednesday 20th @ Walthjamstow Family Hub 3-5pm Wednesday 27th  @ Chingford Family Hub 4-6pm Saturday 30th  10am-12pm -ONLINE
Birth Options clinic Our 'birth options' clinics are led by the consultant midwives who will make a management plan with you for giving birth. The clinic provides an opportunity for women who have previously had a caesarean section, traumatic birth or requesting care outside guidelines to explore the birth choices for their current pregnancy. During this appointment we will review your previous notes and talk through your birthing wishes.	Wednesday
Diabetic Antenatal Clinic (Mr Dawlatly and Miss Cheong-See)	Friday Morning and Tuesday afternoon for type 1 Diabetic women only)

Our screening team is responsible for running the six Antenatal and Newborn Screening Programmes.

The Team  is based in the Antenatal Clinic. They can be contacted on 02085356530 Monday-Friday or you can email them.

Screening tests during pregnancy and beyond include:

• Routine blood tests at your first appointment which includes checking your glucose level, blood group and iron levels. All pregnant women are offered testing for hepatitis B, HIV and syphilis.
• Blood testing and ultrasound scanning for Down's, Edwards' and Patau's syndromes.
• A detailed ultrasound scan at around 20 weeks of pregnancy.
• A top-to-toe new-born physical examination offered to your baby within 72 hours of birth.
• Newborn hearing screening.
• Newborn blood spot (sometimes called "the heel prick test") at around five days after birth.

Screening timeline

To give you more information about screening tests for you and your baby, Public Health England have produced a booklet explaining the screening tests in detail.

The screening timeline explains which screening tests will be offered during your pregnancy and after your baby is born.

You can access this information here.  A digital copy will be given to you by your midwife.

Sickle cell and thalassaemia (SCT) service

Since 1 February 2023, our hospital’s Antenatal and Newborn screening team offers a sickle cell and thalassaemia (SCT) service for pregnant women and their families who are receiving antenatal care at Whipps Cross. 

Our team is the first one across Barts Health to offer this as an ‘in house’ service. Previously, this was sourced externally via the North East London NHS Foundation Trust.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) and thalassaemia major are serious, inherited blood diseases. They affect haemoglobin, a part of the blood that carries oxygen around the body. People who have these conditions will need specialist care throughout their lives.

Day to day, the screening team offers the opportunity for all pregnant women to find out if they are a carrier of the sickle cell or thalassaemia gene and the likelihood of passing it on to their baby. Women or couples who carry the gene are offered specialist counselling and care.

The main benefit of offering this service in-house is that our patients receive all of their care in one place which supports continuity of carer. Patients receive counselling and are offered testing in house rather than having to access services external; this creates a more seamless service and easily accessible to the community. 

More about the service

Nicola Turner, haemoglobinopathies and infectious diseases midwife, leads the service and is the main point of contact for pregnant women and their families who are identified as being carriers of an unusual haemoglobin.

Nicola’s role involves tracking the cohort of affected women in a timely manner, offer counselling, testing for the biological father of the baby, identifying at risk women and couples and to fast track for specialist services and care.

Nicola (photographed below) says:

“I work with a great team who are very supportive in helping to achieve the goal of providing excellent and safe care for all pregnant women.”

For further information on the antenatal screening programmes and sickle cell disease and thalassaemia, visit: www.gov.uk/phe/pregnancy-newborn-screening

Obstetric ultrasound scans

Our obstetric ultrasound scanning unit is located in the Antenatal Clinic. There are five dedicated scan rooms and our team is made up of seven sonographers including midwife sonographers. Please find more details about the scans offered in pregnancy here. 

Scan appointments are offered Monday to Saturday at Whipps Cross Hospital. You may be offered additional scans for uterine artery doppler screening at your anomaly scan, scans to check your baby is growing well and scans to recheck where your placenta is. At your routine scan appointment, we can arrange for a photo to be printed. They are currently free of charge.

Fetal Medicine Unit (FMU)

Our Fetal Medicine Unit team is made up of 4 consultants and a specialist midwife. We offer individualised care to you and your family when there is a concern about the health of your unborn baby.

The FMU diagnoses and manages:

• Chromosomal abnormalities
• Genetic conditions
• Structural fetal defects
• Fetal conditions that require surgical follow-up after birth
• Suspected fetal growth restriction or small for gestational age fetus
• Multiple pregnancy (twins and higher order)
• Pregnancies affected by red cell antibody incompatibility
• Diagnoses of chromosomal and genetic syndromes by invasive testing (amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling) 

The FMU clinics take place in our scanning unit which is situated in the Antenatal Clinic and the clinics run every Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Friday mornings and Thursday afternoons.lead Consultants are Miss Allen, Miss Gorry, Miss Kotecha and Mr Dawlatly.

Antenatal Results and Choices
Down’s Syndrome Association
Twins Trust
The contact number for the fetal medicine specialist midwife, Nadine Wright is 0208 535 6530 / 07927683224.

Barts Health

• Choice and consent during pregnancy and childbirth

• Pain relief in labour: how do the options compare?

• Having an inpatient induction of labour

• Having an outpatient induction of labour

NHS 

• Screening tests for you and your baby 

• NHS Start for Life - Pregnancy

• NHS Start for Life - Baby

• NHS London - Preganancy information videos (also available in Polish, Romanian, Gujarati, Albanian, Bengali, Somali, Urdu) 

Other organisations 

• Tommy's 'Feeling your baby move is a sign that they are well'

• Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

• HENRY early infant feeding support - for Waltham Forest residents