MTW Maternity

31/10/2025

🌸 Feedback Friday 🌸

We love hearing from the amazing families we’ve had the privilege to support during their journey 💕

Thank you Alaine, who sent this lovely message about the birth of her twins:

"I gave birth to my two twins at 32 weeks pregnant through emergency c section! I would like to thank the midwife’s and doctors who supported me through my labour and getting my twins delivered safely! I would also like to thank all of the staff in the NICU without them I don’t think the darkest days would have been so bright! My twins are now 12 weeks old and are really thriving at life! I wouldn’t chose any other hospital to give birth at."

💌 Have you recently experienced our maternity services? Share your story with us - mtw-tr.positivebirths@nhs.net

27/10/2025

If you’re pregnant, getting your flu jab is one of the best ways to protect both you and your baby. 💙

✅ The flu vaccine is free, safe, and recommended at any stage of pregnancy.
✅ Between 16–32 weeks, the whooping cough (pertussis) vaccine is advised to help protect your baby during their first few months of life.
✅ From around 28 weeks, you may also be offered the RSV vaccine.

🤰 Speak to your midwife for more information about vaccinations and help give your baby the best start this winter.

24/10/2025

🌸 Feedback Friday 🌸

We love hearing from the amazing families we’ve had the privilege to support during their journey 💕

Thank you Jasmine, who sent this lovely message about her birth:

"I just wanted to share our positive birth story at twells hospital and say a massive thank you to these amazing ladies who helped us with our delivery we couldn’t have done it without your support !

✨Libby, Lou , Amber and Zeena ✨

We attended triage Friday afternoon at 8pm with strong contractions and I was booked in for an elective c section on the following Monday but baby had other ideas the amazing team acted fast and supported me so well with keeping me calm and helping me through a tough time we went from 1cm at midnight to delivering our beautiful daughter at 3.23 am naturally!x

We just want to say a massive thank you to the amazing team for supporting us and helping us welcome our beautiful daughter Paige to the world ✨💗"

💌 Have you recently experienced our maternity services? Share your story with us - mtw-tr.positivebirths@nhs.net

23/10/2025

🚭 It’s never too late to stop!

Quitting smoking is one of the most important things you can do for your baby’s health. 💜

This , take the first step towards a smoke-free pregnancy.

👉 Find out more at: https://www.kentandmedwaylms.nhs.uk/smoking-during-pregnancy

20/10/2025

Wishing a very happy and healthy to our patients, staff, volunteers and everyone in our communities celebrating! ✨

May the festival of lights bring new beginnings, and the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. 🪔

We send a special thank you to those working during the festival, caring for patients and helping keep people safe.

18/10/2025

If you’re pregnant and need to speak to someone about your pregnancy or labour, your midwife will be able to answer most of your questions.

📲 If you have an urgent clinical concern, call our maternity triage team on 01892 633500 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week).

📞 For non-urgent clinical enquiries, contact our midwifery liaison office on 01892 638158 or 01892 633488.

🤰 The ultrasound department can be contacted on 01892 633043 for Tunbridge Wells Hospital or 01622 224241 for Maidstone Hospital.

🧑‍🍼 If you’d like to speak to the team at Maidstone Birth Centre call 01622 220161, and for Crowborough Birthing Centre at MTW it’s 01892 654080 or 01892 664643.

17/10/2025

🌸 Feedback Friday 🌸

We love hearing from the amazing families we’ve had the privilege to support during their journey 💕

Thank you Jenna, who sent this lovely message about her homebirth:

"We’d like to give our overwhelmingly positive feedback to the homebirth team. My waters broke spontaneously on Sunday and I called triage, and from there everything was smooth, the midwives organised so quickly when my husband made the second phone call to say contractions had accelerated. Mandy and Melanie are truly angels on earth and single handedly healed my birth trauma from my first baby. I had a very quick birth from start to finish, but the second Mandy (she arrived about 15 minutes earlier than Mel) entered my home I knew I was in safe hands. She allowed me to continue trusting my body and didn’t give me any unnecessary cervical checks. Mandy and Mel allowed me autonomy from start to finish, they listened to me the whole way through and were gentle. I got no sense of panic and felt incredibly secure and safe with them. They gently guided me when pushing but also allowed me to listen to my body. We weren’t able to fill the pool on time so I gave birth on my living room floor but we all just rolled with it. They handled everything after birthing baby and placenta brilliantly and were amazing helping my husband clean up. I am truly grateful to both of them. It is obvious they are both in the midwifery profession for the right reasons and deserve all the praise in the world. I cannot thank them enough.
Warm regards,
Jenna"

💌 Have you recently experienced our maternity services? Share your story with us - mtw-tr.positivebirths@nhs.net

10/10/2025

🌸 Feedback Friday. 🌸Trigger Warning: Baby Loss

To further mark Baby Loss Awareness Week (BLAW), we wanted to share Emily’s story following the birth of her son, Dexter. 💙

“My positive birth story is slightly different from others I’ve seen, but I think it’s still important to share.
In November 2024, I was induced with my son Dexter, who was stillborn.
Dexter was diagnosed at 12 weeks with a terminal condition, but I chose to continue the pregnancy. I was cared for by some of the most amazing people throughout my pregnancy, birth, and afterwards and I want to thank them.

My community midwife, Sarah, was my rock during my pregnancy and I honestly couldn’t have got through it without her. Georgina, my midwife during the second half of labour, was faultless - so calm, caring, and delivered Dexter with such love and respect.

Harriet, the bereavement midwife, is in my opinion the most amazing person I have ever met. Her knowledge and support through the toughest time helped me far more than she’ll ever know.

Dexter may not have been born alive, but we were both treated with such care and kindness at Tunbridge Wells Hospital by staff who went, and still go, above and beyond.”

Emily went on to raise funds for our Maternity Bereavement Service and generously donated a CuddleCot in Dexter’s memory. This special equipment enables families to take their babies home and create precious memories during the short time they have together.

We are so grateful to Emily for her courage in sharing her story and for her incredible support in helping other bereaved families. 💕

09/10/2025

We’d love to hear from you!

If you’ve recently had an induction of labour at MTW, please share your experience with our Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Maternity Voices Partnership. Your feedback helps us to make real improvements 💜

❓Was induction of labour recommended to you?
❓Did you get good information about why it was recommended?
❓Were you able to have a conversation about it?
❓Did you know what to expect?
❓Were you well cared for?

If you've recently had conversations about induction of labour at MTW Maternity please share your experiences with us. We'll share these (anonymously) with the Trust and work with them to improve the processes around induction of labour.

You can reply to this thread, or email me (Charlie) at mtw.mvp@gmail.com

Thanks in advance.... 🙏









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08/10/2025

🌼 Our Crowborough Newborn Café is open this Thursday! 🌼

Our Crowborough Newborn Café will be running this Thursday from 9am–12pm (last entry 11:30am) at the Day Centre, Crowborough War Memorial Hospital.

Join us for a cuppa ☕ and relaxed, one-to-one infant feeding support for babies up to 12 weeks old, older children are welcome too! 💛

No need to book, just drop in and enjoy some friendly support from the Crowborough Birth Centre team.

📍 Southview Close, Crowborough, TN6 1HB
📞 01892 654080

💬 We’re also looking for volunteers!
We’re currently recruiting volunteers to support our cafés at both Crowborough and Maidstone Birth Centres. If you’re passionate about supporting new parents and creating a welcoming space for families, we’d love to hear from you!

For more information or to express your interest, please contact the infant feeding team on mtw-tr.infant-feeding-specialists@nhs.net

07/10/2025

Baby Loss Awareness Week (BLAW) runs from 9th to 15th October and is a time for everyone in the baby loss community, and beyond, to come together to remember loved and much-missed babies, and to raise awareness of pregnancy and baby loss. 💗

To mark the start of this important week, MTW’s annual Baby Remembrance Service will be held in the Multi Faith Centre at Tunbridge Wells Hospital at 5pm on Thursday 9th October.
We warmly welcome anyone who has been affected by pregnancy loss or the death of a baby to join us in taking time to remember.

If you would like your baby/babies to be remembered as part of the service, please email your name and your baby’s name to the bereavement midwife by Thursday morning:
📧 mtw-tr.bereavementmidwives@nhs.net

Throughout the week, there will be information and support resources available, along with candles for people to take home and light during the global Wave of Light at 7pm on 15th October. 🕯️

For more information about Baby Loss Awareness Week or to get involved in fundraising efforts, please visit:
🔗 https://babyloss-awareness.org