Start for Life Offer

New Cross Hospital’s Maternity Unit provides women with care throughout their pregnancy, during baby’s birth and after baby is born. 

Whether this is your first or you’ve already experienced Maternity services, the Maternity Unit will support you to access the care you want throughout your pregnancy journey. 

If you want any part of your care to be with New Cross Hospital, you can self-refer yourself via Badger Notes here. 

Complete the form as fully as possible – some fields are mandatory and you won’t be able to continue without completing them. 

Once New Cross Hospital’s Maternity Unit receive your completed referral, they will triage it based on the information you have provided and a Midwife will be in touch to arrange your booking appointment. In the meantime, if you have any concerns about your pregnancy please speak to your GP. 

You can also use this to refer a pregnancy on behalf of a woman. 

For non-urgent queries call your community midwife. 

f you experience any of the following symptoms contact the Maternity Triage Unit straight away on 01902 695037:

• Severe constant abdominal pain
• Vaginal bleeding
• Your waters have broken
• Severe headaches
• Blurred vision or see spots in your eyes
• Persistent itching
• Changed or reduced fetal movements

If you are concerned about your health during your pregnancy, call 111 or visit: 111.nhs.uk.

In an emergency situation you should attend your local hospital Emergency Department or dial 999 (UK).

Health Visiting is part of the Wolverhampton 0-19 Service, also consisting of the School Nursing Service, through which children and their families are supported at home and at school from birth to 19 years old.

Health Visitors help to keep babies and children aged from 0-5 years old, and your family as healthy as possible. 

You would expect to see a Health Visitor for an assessment of your child’s health, growth and development at 10-14 days, 6-8 weeks, around 9-12 months, and between 2-2.5 years. 

You don’t need to contact the service directly to arrange these assessments, they will contact you.

We realise being a parent can be full of challenges and you may need extra help from time to time. 

The service is here to offer this help when you need it, for example, if your child is ill, having difficulties with feeding, sleeping, toileting and behaviour. 

Health Visitors can also help parents / carers with issues such as their own emotional health. 
If you find you are having significant difficulties, for example if your child has a Special Educational Need or Disability (SEND), a medical condition, or perhaps there are concerns about the safely of your child, the 0-19 Service will be involved in ensuring your child is safe and getting the care they need. 

You can contact the team by ringing the Single Point of Access (SPoA) Hub on 01904 441057.

You can call for support with: 

• Appointment changes / updates
• Change of contact details
• Advice about babies and preschool children regarding toilet training, sleep, introduction to solid foods, diet, exercise and behaviour
• Development concerns
• Breastfeeding support
• Parenting concerns, advice, and support

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust promotes breastfeeding as the healthiest choice of feeding, beneficial for both mothers and their babies. 

Many pregnant women find it very helpful to attend a breastfeeding support group before the birth of their baby, to talk to other mothers, ask questions and meet breastfeeding supporters. 

New mothers also value support groups to gain practical breastfeeding support and information from peer supporters, and to meet other mothers to share their experiences. 

Run by Wolverhampton’s Infant Feeding Team and 0-19 Health Visiting Team, the face-to-face support groups operate on a drop-in basis, so there is no need to book to attend. 

Partners, friends, and family members are welcome to join you. 

Find out what date and time breastfeeding support groups take place via the Healthy Child Wolves app, or find updates on the Wolves 0-19 social media pages.

You may experience low mood or ‘baby blues’ during the first couple of weeks after having your baby. This could include anxiety or restlessness, feeling irritable or touchy, or emotional and teary for no apparent reason.

These feelings are common and are often due to the hormonal and chemical changes that take place in your body after childbirth. 

For most women, these feelings will only last for around two weeks.

If you continue to feel low after two weeks following the birth, then you may have postnatal depression. If you are worried, then it’s important you talk to your GP or Health Visiting team 

Wolverhampton Talking Therapies is a psychological therapies service for people who are experiencing common mental health problems such including depression, anxiety and stress. If you are aged 16 years or older, are registered with a GP in Wolverhampton and are not already accessing another service to support your mental health, please get in touch.

Anyone can self-refer online using the online referral form. 

The service offers you a choice of treatments based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). This is a very practical and effective approach to help people manage their difficulties.

The Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) local offer provides information in a single place for children, young people, their parents and carers. 

Provision is available within Wolverhampton Libraries and Community Hubs as well as the City of Wolverhampton Council Civic Centre, to support access to the Local Offer.

You can find information on what services children, young people and their families can expect from a range of local agencies including:

• Special educational provision
• Health provision
• Social care provision
• Other educational provision
• Training provision
• Travel arrangements for children and young people to schools, colleges and early years education
• Preparing for adulthood, including housing, employment and leisure opportunities.

Visit the local offer here

If you are worried that a child has been harmed or is at risk of harm then phone Wolverhampton Safeguarding Together on 01902 555392 (Monday - Thursday 8:30am – 5:00pm and 8:30am - 4:30pm on Fridays). 

For out of hours concerns, phone 01902 552999. 

Members of the public can discuss their concerns in confidence and if necessary, anonymously. 

If a child is in immediate danger, then call 999 for a police response.

A Family Hub is a place where children, young people and their families can go to access services from different agencies in their local area.

About our Hubs 

The people working in the Family Hub will be able to give you information or advice and help you to find and get support from different services in the area. A range of services are provided from within the Family Hub, for example:

• Child development
• Infant feeding support
• Emotional health and wellbeing
• Stay and play sessions
• Parenting support
• Housing support
• Benefits and welfare rights advice
• Employment and training
• SEND support
• Out of school activities
• Birth registrations
• Adult education

Getting help from a Family Hub is simple. You can walk in, telephone or a professional can refer you. If you need help using the ‘Healthy Child Wolves’ app or have limited access to technology, you can visit your local Family Hub for support. 

Family hubs will be open from Monday to Friday, with some services offered at evenings and weekends. Access to services will also be provided from other locations in your community.

Parent / Carer panel 

Wolverhampton has been selected to further improve services for families to access family hubs. The parent/ carer panel are looking for local people to contribute ideas to develop services and identify gaps. To find out more, please visit the Family Hubs webpage here.

To contribute into this exciting opportunity, please contact Reeta Shemar: Reeta.Shemar@wolverhampton.gov.uk / 07890 39767.

Our Eight Hubs 

There are eight Family Hubs across the city. Family Hubs services are also delivered through other sites across Bilston.

Find out more about your nearest Family Hub here.

To learn more about our Start for Life offer for you and your baby, you can download the Healthy Child Wolves app. 

The app is packed with tips, advice and signposting to support families, from pregnancy to getting a child ready for school and everything in between. 

It includes a wide range of information and advice, from common illnesses, first aid and keeping your baby safe, to breastfeeding, dental health, trackers to record a baby’s sleeps and feeds and looking after your emotional health and wellbeing. You can find out more about the Health Visiting team, other local NHS children’s services and Family Hubs.

The app is available to download for free from Google Play or the App Store.

Download from Google Play

Download from App Store

DadPad® is a free guide for new and existing dads living in Wolverhampton, with advice on becoming a dad, what to expect, and details of local support groups and service providers.

As a new dad you will feel excited, but you may also feel left out, unsure or overwhelmed. DadPad® will support you and your partner to give your baby the best possible start in life.

The Solihull Approach parenting programme offers evidence-based online courses, expertly designed by NHS professionals, and aimed at educating parents to better understand your child’s feelings and behaviour and raise them to be emotionally aware, sociable, and confident. Courses are tailored for all stages of a child’s development to help all family members through reflective, supportive learning without judgement.

Become a more confident parent by learning about child brain development, challenging behaviour, communication and your own wellbeing needs because parenting is a journey that is always changing!

NHS Better Health Start for Life is the place for trusted NHS advice and guidance to support parents to have a healthy and happy baby during pregnancy, birth, and parenthood.

From parents-to-be finding out their due date, early pregnancy signs and symptoms, to getting parents ready for labour and birth, and whatever you want to know about parenthood – here is the essential guide for parents and professionals, with lots of free tools available.

BBC Tiny Happy People focuses on developing children’s language and communication skills and school readiness. It also gives parents advice on how they can bond with their child, before they’re born and throughout their early lives, so they get the best start in life.

The ideas and activities included on the website are easy for parents to build into daily routines. They’re quick and inspiring, but they’re also based on expert advice and evidence and are proven to help infant development.

NCT is a national charity that supports people as they become parents. Their vision is that everyone who becomes a parent feels confident, connected, and safe because they believe parents help build the foundations of the future.

There is a variety of advice available from pregnancy, birth, early parenthood, and guidance on how parents can bond and care for their infants.

Words for Life has been developed by the National Literacy Trust to provide parents, children and young people with activities and support to improve their language, literacy, and communication skills from home. There are lots of quick and easy tips and activities available for you to discover new ways to boost your child’s literacy skills while having fun chatting, playing, and reading together.

Little Moments Together Cards have been developed by the National Literacy Trust to boost parents’ confidence in talking and listening to your baby, helping build their communication skills from the very start. Little Moments Together cards are filled with tips and conversation ideas to help you chat to your 0- to 2-year-old throughout the day.

The cards include:

• Tips to help parents support their child to communicate.
• Examples of things parents could say to their child as they go about their day.
• Explanations to support parents to understand the importance of talking to their child.

Best Beginnings inform and empower parents and caregivers to build the knowledge and confidence they need to look after themselves and to provide nurturing care for their children.

They provide mothers, fathers, co-parents and other caregivers easy access to additional support, including the 24/7 Baby Buddy Emotional Support Helpline. They believe no one should have to face a crisis alone.

Baby Buddy provides self-care tools based on the latest research and evidence and provides trusted information to:

• support and empower mums, dads, and caregivers,
• build their knowledge and confidence, and
• help them take care of their physical and mental health during pregnancy, birth and the first year of their baby’s life.

DigiDAD is an online peer support community for Dads to develop parenting skills, improve their relationship skills, learn first aid skills, focus on their mental health, and learn about support services.