Choices for places of birth

Facilities and services

If you would like to have your baby at Andover, we have a freestanding midwifery unit known as Andover Birth Centre (ABC). This was recently re-opened in June 2024 following refurbishment and features a birthing room designed to provide a calm and spacious environment with as many comforts as possible including a birthing pool, soft lighting, and some additional birthing aids which enable women to use gravity during labour and birth. Our midwives will meet you there once you are in labour and will stay with you for a few hours after birth. After that you can return home.

If there are any concerns during your labour at Andover, the midwives will arrange a transfer to one of the main hospital sites in Winchester or Basingstoke. Transfer to a hospital during birth is a well-practised event and we work closely with South Central Ambulance Service to ensure a fast and safe transfer for mothers and babies.

If you would like to give birth at ABC you can speak to your midwife who will refer you to our Blossom & Bloom community birth team. They will arrange to meet you for an antenatal check where you will also make a birth plan. We regularly hold ‘Meet the Midwives’ sessions so you can find out more about birth in the community. Community birth is recommended for mothers who are at low risk of complications in labour and may not be the safest choice for everyone. You can speak to your midwife or doctor if you want more information.

We aim to support your choices and where mothers are known to have additional complications and choose to birth at ABC we will work together with you, community and specialist midwives and doctors to create a personalised birth plan to support you.

How to find us

Details on how to find Andover hospital can be found by clicking here.

See inside

Take a look at the video below for a walkthrough of the Andover Hospital maternity unit. 

Facilities and services

• Early Pregnancy Unit – for problems in early pregnancy (like bleeding and pain)
• Maternity day assessment unit (MDAU) where you will be seen with any concerns or complications in your pregnancy from 20 weeks onwards.
• Antenatal ward - this is a 9 bedded ward which includes the induction suite. You will be cared for here if you need to be in hospital before you give birth.
• Delivery Suite - an obstetric unit (where specialist doctors are always present) with 8 birth rooms including 2 pool rooms, and 2 on-site operating theatres.
• Butterfly Suite - where families experiencing a baby loss are cared for.
• Postnatal ward with 18 beds, including side rooms and a 4-bedded transitional care unit (TCU) for babies requiring more support.
• Special care baby unit, which cares for babies born after 30 weeks of pregnancy. Babies born before 30 weeks or needing more support are transferred (often before birth) to other regional units.

How to find us

Details on how to find Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital can be found by clicking here. Here you will find a map showing the route to Basingstoke maternity building and where the parking is located. 

See inside

Take a look at the video below for a walkthrough of our Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital maternity unit. 

Facilities and services

If you would like to have your baby in Winchester at our Royal Hampshire County Hospital, there is:

• Early Pregnancy Unit– for problems in early pregnancy (like bleeding and pain)
• Maternity day assessment unit (MDAU) where you will be seen with any concerns or complications in your pregnancy from 20 weeks.
• Geoffrey Hammond Ward - combining an antenatal ward with 8 beds, including the induction suite, and the postnatal ward with 22 beds, including a 5-bedded transitional care unit (TCU) for babies requiring more support.
• Butterfly Suite - where families experiencing bereavement can be cared for.
• Labour Ward - an obstetric unit (where specialist doctors are always present) with 5 birth rooms. There are also 2 on-site maternity theatres.
• Alongside midwifery unit called Winchester Birth Centre which has 2 en-suite pool rooms.
• Special care baby unit, which cares for babies born after 32 weeks of pregnancy. Babies born before 32 weeks or requiring more intensive support are transferred (often before birth) to other regional units

How to find us

Details on how to find the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester can be found by clicking here. 

See inside

• View a walkaround video of our Winchester facilities on Facebook here
• View a walkaround video of our Winchester Birth Centre on Facebook here

At Hampshire Hospitals we support families choosing to give birth at home. This option is only recommended if you are fit and healthy, and your pregnancy does not have any known complications. Birth at home is often a very positive experience and, for many women, is as safe as birth in a hospital.

If you would like to give birth at home, you can speak to your midwife who will refer you to our Blossom & Bloom community birth team. They will arrange to meet you for an antenatal check where you will also make a birth plan. We regularly hold ‘Meet the Midwives’ sessions so you can find out more about birth in the community.

If there are any concerns during your labour the midwives will arrange a transfer to your nearest main hospital site in Winchester or Basingstoke. Transfer to a hospital during birth is a well-practised event and we work closely with South Central Ambulance Service to ensure a fast and safe transfer for mothers and babies.

We aim to support your choices and where mothers are known to have additional complications and choose to birth at home we will work together with you, community and specialist midwives and doctors to create a personalised birth plan to support you.