Wollongong Hospital’s upgraded birth unit is due to reopen by mid-July, following a five-month, $2.2 million renovation project. The revamped space is designed to better support women in physiological labour and birth and will be fitted with evidence-based equipment to facilitate better holistic outcomes for women and their babies.
“This marks a new era for birthing women in the Illawarra,” said Fiona Reid, Clinical Midwifery Consultant at Wollongong Hospital. “Women will have access to a respectful, contemporary space that honours the need for privacy and better facilitates the natural flow of hormones in labour”.
Features of the new Wollongong Hospital Birth Unit
The new design acknowledges the proven effectiveness of water in labour and birth, with two rooms being fitted with large, custom-built birth baths and every room equipped with double-headed showers for simultaneous front and back non-medical pain relief.
Two rooms will have rebozo dangles hanging from the ceiling to support women who have a natural instinct to ‘hang’ in the first and second stage of labour, while also serving as a proven tool to reposition babies sitting in challenging positions by taking pressure away from the woman’s pelvis.
Other features include dimmable lighting, double layer blinds, Bluetooth speakers and independent temperature control in every room, while medical equipment, including five new state-of-the-art neonatal resuscitation machines, will be stored out of sight in custom-built cabinetry to provide a more welcoming, warm birthing environment.
Other equipment that will be available to women include birth stools, birth balls, peanut balls and mats.
When will the new Wollongong Hospital Birth Unit open?
While Better Births Illawarra is awaiting advisement of the official opening date, it’s likely the first babies will be born in the revamped birth unit by mid-July. This follows a five-month closure of the birth unit and utilisation of a temporary birth space elsewhere in the hospital.
Better Births Illawarra has advocated for the refurbishment of the Wollongong Hospital Birth Unit and the introduction of birthing props since 2016. Pleasingly, Wollongong hospital has facilitated a collaborative working relationship with BBI, and we’ve sat in on weekly birth unit refurbishment project meetings since August 2019. Wollongong Hospital has also worked with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and the Illawarra Baby and Child Loss Support Group, giving local women and the wider community input into the new design.
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