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Maternity services

Maternity Services

Becoming a parent is an amazing and exciting experience and we are passionate about providing high quality care throughout this time.

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.

We provide maternity services at both The William Harvey Hospital and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital, as well as antenatal services across the Trust, and support around 6,500 people a year who give birth with us.

East Kent Hospitals offers a range of maternity care services in hospital, in the local community and at your home to support your transition into family life.

We have fantastic options for low dependency care in our midwifery-run birthing suites.

We can also provide specialist support for complex pregnancies and health conditions.

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.

We hope that the information on this website will be helpful to you during your pregnancy. You can also follow us on:

Finding out you’re pregnant

If you would like us to provide your care, you can now 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.

Seeing 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. There are some routine tests need to be carried out by the tenth week of pregnancy, so an early appointment with a midwife will enable you to discuss these tests and plan appropriately.

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 NT screening.

You will also receive an email with details of how to register for the My Own Maternity App (MOMA). The MOMA app is a great source of information for our maternity patients and those close to them. It contains general pregnancy information, a personal appointments calendar, the trust’s maternity leaflets and useful contact numbers.

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 COVID-19 is asked to not attend the hospital.

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.

Folkestone and Kingsgate Wards

New extended visiting for partners/significant other (one person only) - 24hrs
4pm - 7pm general visiting and own children only

Please note: no other children are permitted in the ward areas and we respectfully request only two visitors for each woman at general visiting.

For more information

Bump, birth and beyond

Bump, Birth and Beyond is the Local Maternity System website - your guide to maternity services and options across Kent and Medway. It was created with women and expectant families from Kent and Medway. Your maternity care is safest when you understand your choices and can make the right decisions for you and your baby. Bump, birth and beyond gives local, trusted information.