The Birth Unit at Gloucestershire Royal

The birth unit at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital is a brand new facility, located in the state-of-the-art Women’s Centre.

The unit has been designed to provide an intimate, comfortable sanctuary where you can labour privately with the support of your birth partner(s) and a midwife.You will have your own homely room and access to a birth pool should you wish to have a waterbirth.

In addition, the unit is one of only a handful of birth centres in the UK which provides aromatherapy for women in labour – an innovative and effective method of relieving pain or anxiety and a non-invasive, natural way to progress your labour.

Once your baby is born, you and your partner can stay in the same room in which you gave birth until you are ready to leave.

Our midwives are passionate about helping you achieve the kind of natural delivery you would like. However, in the event that you need help from a doctor, need emergency assistance or would simply like an epidural, the hospital’s delivery suite is easily accessible on the floor below.

If you are considered to be at increased risk of complications, either at the beginning of your pregnancy, as your pregnancy develops or during labour, your midwife or doctor may advise against giving birth in a midwife-led unit.

Our facilities:

  • Two birthing pools
  • Aromatherapy service
  • Seven en-suite ‘home-from-home’ birthing rooms, all equipped to support active, natural labour
  • One-to-one midwife care
  • Close proximity to delivery suite if intervention is required

Take a look around the Birth Unit and the rest of the Women's Centre with our virtual tour