Our maternity service cares for people who are pregnant before, during and after the birth of their babies.
Our dedicated team will look at your needs throughout each and every stage of your pregnancy to ensure that you have the right maternity support.
East Kent Hospitals offers a range of maternity care services in hospital, at the William Harvey Hospital and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital. We also provide maternity services in the local community and at your home to support your transition into family life. We support around 6,500 people a year who give birth with us.
Our aim is to keep you well informed so that you can make informed choices. Please do not hesitate to ask questions and seek advice at any time.
Book your pregnancy care with us
If you have recently found out you are pregnant and would like us to provide your care, you can contact us direct without the need to see your GP. There are many health benefits for you and your baby if you access maternity care as soon as you have a positive pregnancy test.
To book your pregnancy care with us simply complete the online self-referral form giving as much detail as possible.
Complete our online self-referral formSeeing a midwife at an early stage will ensure you are given all the information that you need right from the start to help you make the right choices for you and your baby. Some routine tests must be carried out by the 10th week of pregnancy, so an early appointment with a midwife will enable you to discuss these tests and plan appropriately.
What to expect
Between 7-9 weeks pregnant, you will be contacted by a midwife either by phone, text or email to arrange the booking appointment. This generally happens over two separate appointments which usually takes place in the 10th week of pregnancy. At this appointment you will also receive details of your 12-week scan.
Birth partners and visitors
In labour we welcome birth partners to stay with you throughout your labour. In order to maintain privacy for you in labour, we recommend no more than two birth partners. One partner or significant other can visit for 24 hours after the birth of your baby.
Folkestone and Kingsgate wards
General visiting is from 12-8pm and we respectfully request a maximum of two visitors during this time who can switch and swap with others. Please note, no other children (outside of your own) are permitted in the ward areas.
Coronavirus information
To help us look after you and your baby, it's really important to tell your midwife or maternity team if you test positive for Coronavirus.
If you have no symptoms, or mild symptoms, you will be advised to recover at home. If you have more severe symptoms, you might be treated in a hospital setting.
We are reminding everyone that only one partner can attend the scans and appointments. Two support people can attend the birth and one can be on the postnatal/antenatal ward 24/7.
Any partner displaying any symptoms of Coronavirus is asked to not attend the hospital.
Contact us
Maternity Triage
Foetal Medicine
01233 616181 ext. 723 6181
Delivery Suite
Singleton Midwife-led Unit
Folkestone Ward
Early Pregnancy Unit
01233 633331 ext. 723 8268
Maternity Triage
Delivery Suite
St Peters Midwife-led Unit
Foetal Medicine/Antenatal Clinic
01843 225544 ext 62109
Kingsgate Ward
Early Pregnancy Unit
Canterbury Maternity Centre
Dover Maternity Centre
Maternity Community Liaison Office
Birth Afterthoughts Service
Professional Midwifery Advocates (PMAs) are experienced practising midwives who have undertaken additional training.
Professional midwifery advocates work for women in three ways:
Supporting midwives to advocate for women
Providing direct support for women
Undertaking quality improvement in collaboration with women.
How Professional Midwifery Advocates can help you
We can support you and your midwife to plan your pregnancy care and plan for the birth of your baby
We can discuss in collaboration with your midwife the most appropriate choices for you and your baby
We can help to resolve any disagreements about your maternity care in an unbiased and impartial manner
We can talk to you if you are unhappy about your birth outcome or treatment.
We can listen to any concerns you may have about your maternity care and take action if it is felt to be appropriate
Our team of professional midwifery advocates work in a wide range of practice areas providing a range of skill and expertise.
How to contact a Professional Midwifery Advocate
Email: ekhuft.pma@nhs.net
The email is checked daily during the working week. Emails received out of office hours, for example at the weekends/bank holidays, will be answered the next working day. You may use the email for positive feedback about your midwifery care.
If you have had a difficult birth experience, you may wish to contact the Trust's Birth After Thoughts service on ekh-tr.birthafterthoughts@nhs.net
Leaving your full name, address date and place of delivery. This service will arrange a meeting with an experienced midwife who will go through your notes and discuss your birth experience with you.
Useful phone numbers
For urgent issues please contact:
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital Labour Ward on 01843 234267
William Harvey Hospital Ashford Labour Ward on 01233 616124
Midwifery Led Units:
St Peter's Unit QEQM: 01843 235100
Singleton Unit WHH: 01233 651868
For non-urgent issues please contact:
Canterbury Maternity Day Care: 01227 783105
Dover Maternity Day Care: 01304 222523
QEQM Maternity Day Care: 01843 234483
WHH Maternity Day Care: 01233 616638
Your local Maternity Voices Partnership (MVP) is a great resource for links to local hospitals, birthing centres, midwives and heads of maternity.
MVPs can help with any questions you have and are also collecting the contact details of private and charity birthing world professionals who can give advice on breastfeeding, pregnancy, birth and caring for your new baby on the phone or on video chat.
Important: MVPs are independent from the Trusts they represent but will help you by signposting to the information you need.
Any queries about the health of you or your baby must be directed straight to a healthcare professional at the hospital via the maternity triage line.
Please use the links below to find your local MVP on Facebook, subscribe to posts by ‘liking’ the page and feel free to ask them any general questions you have.
Your voice is heard
We want to hear your thoughts on the care you receive during your pregnancy (antenatal), labour and birth, and after the birth of your baby (postnatal). Your feedback will help us to see what is working well and help us make changes to provide better care for our women, birthing people and their families in the future.
We will automatically make you a telephone appointment for approximately six weeks after your baby’s birth to hear your feedback.
During this call, a member of the Maternity Patient Experience Team will ask you to provide feedback on the care you have received. We also welcome any feedback from your support partner.
These are the questions we will ask you at your telephone appointment:
How would you describe your care?
What do you feel went well?
Does your support partner have any comments?
How would you score your antenatal/labour/postnatal care on a scale of 1-4, 1 being very poor and 4 being excellent?
What could we have done better?
Do you feel you were given choices about your care?
Do you feel you were included with making decisions about your care?
If you were to have another baby, would you feel happy returning to us for your care?
Any other comments?
If you tell us any significant issues during the telephone call, we can refer you to an appropriate healthcare professional for additional support.
If you need communication support such as an interpreter or information in another language, please ask your caregiver or contact the Maternity Patient Experience Team. You can email us at ekhuft.pem@nhs.net.
What we will do with this information
We will record all of your feedback and take key issues to the relevant teams in the hospital and community. We will share this information and any actions taken from the feedback with our staff and the local community on our social media. We will not use your name unless you give us permission to.
Any feedback you give us will not be stored or linked to your medical records and will not affect your future care.
If you do not want to be contacted
If you decide you do not want to be contacted or you change your mind at any time, please contact the Maternity Patient Experience Team. You can email us at ekhuft.pem@nhs.net.
Other ways to give feedback
If you or your support partners want to give us feedback at any stage in your pregnancy journey, please contact our Patient Experience Midwives. You can email us at ekhuft.pem@nhs.net.
You have ‘thoughts about my pregnancy experiences’ pages in your hospital notes to write down any thoughts and feelings you have throughout your pregnancy.
If you have any worries, concerns or questions about your care, please speak to your Midwife, GP or Health Visitor.
Who can I talk to?
If you are pregnant and have questions or concerns about your care during your pregnancy or labour, please talk to your midwife, who will be able to help you.
You can also contact the maternity service through our Maternity Facebook page @EKHUFTMaternity.
Your voice is heard
If you want to tell us about your experience of our maternity service, please contact our Maternity Patient Experience Team by emailing ekhuft.pem@nhs.net.
Questions about your baby’s birth
If you want to talk about your baby’s birth, experienced midwives can answer any questions you have. You can email us at ekh-tr.birthafterthoughts@nhs.net.
Do you need to complain?
If you need to make a complaint please talk to one of our matrons or ward managers, or you can contact our PALS team.
Do you want to talk to someone else?
If you would like to talk to someone who is independent of the East Kent maternity service, you can contact the Maternity Voices Partnership at eastkentMVP@gmail.com.
