Are you planning to have your baby in Northern Ireland? This article is filled with information to help you find out more about birth places in Northern Ireland and your options for where to give birth.
Most expectant parents in Northern Ireland will have three options – hospital birth with care led by doctors, hospital birth with care led by midwives and home birth with care from midwives.
“My doctor/midwife said I have to go to . . . do I really have a choice?”
YES! You absolutely have a choice, where you choose to give birth is your decision.
Let us look at what is available
Birth at home:
Your house! Birth at home is an option for all expectant parents in Northern Ireland. For more information on home birth you can read the RQIA Guideline for Planning to Birth at Home in Northern Ireland. While the RQIA Guideline is currently out of date it has lots of useful information for parents considering birth at home. There are also local Facebook groups for those interested in Home Birth – NI Home Birth Forum, and the Northern Ireland Home Birthers and Hopefuls parents group. If you are living in the Southern Trust area, you can link in with the dedicated Birth at Home team, find out more here.
Hospital birth options
In recent years hospital birth options have been reduced for parents in Northern Ireland with the closure of freestanding midwifery led units in The Downe, Lagan Valley, and the Mater Hospital Belfast. The loss of the Causeway maternity unit has also impacted on options.
As it stands most families will have two main options for hospital birth. Consultant-led units or midwifery-led units. There are several key differences in the two options, we will discuss that further in our blog about consultant versus midwifery care options in Northern Ireland. For now we will focus on the options for birth itself in the different trust areas.
Belfast Trust Area
Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital delivery suite^
(Note the room shown at the start of this video is the pool room in the Active Birth Centre)
Active Birth Centre at the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital**
South Eastern Trust Area
The Labour Ward at the Ulster Hospital^
Ulster Hospital Home From Home**
Northern Trust Area
The Labour Ward at Antrim Area Hospital^
Southern Trust Area
Delivery Suite in Daisy Hill Hospital^
Daisy Hill Hospital Midwife Led Unit**
Delivery Suite in Craigavon Area Hospital^
Craigavon Area Hospital Midwife Led Unit**
Western Trust Area
The Delivery Suite in South Western Acute Hospital^
The Delivery Suite in Altnagelvin Area Hospital^
Altnagelvin Midwife Led Unit**
Type of units
**Alongside Midwifery Led Unit – A unit located in a hospital alongside an obstetric unit (delivery suite or labour ward) where midwives are the lead professional for care in labour.
^ Consultant Led Unit – A unit located in a hospital where the consultants are the lead professional for care in labour.
Water Birth
Many families are choosing water for labour and birth, this is an important factor in choosing where to give birth as some units have very limited pool availability. Below is a table of how many pools are available in each unit.
| Trust Area | Unit Name / Type | Number of rooms | Number of pools |
| Belfast | The Royal delivery suite | 12 | 1 |
| Belfast | Active Birth Centre | 4 | 1 |
| South Eastern | Ulster Hospital Labour Ward | 7 | 1 |
| South Eastern | Home from Home | 7 | 7 |
| Northern | Labour Ward at Antrim Area Hospital | 6 | 1 |
| Southern | Daisy Hill Delivery Suite | 4 | 0 |
| Southern | Daisy Hill Midwifery Unit | 2 | 2 |
| Southern | Craigavon Area Hospital Delivery Suite | 10 | 1 |
| Southern | Craigavon Area Hospital Midwife Led Unit | 8 | 0 (each room has a large bath instead) |
| Western | Altnagelvin Delivery Suite | 6 | 1(shared with MLU) |
| Western | Altnagelvin Midwife Led Unit | 3 | 2 (1 shared with delivery suite) |
| Western | South West Acute Hospital | 6 | 1 |
Antenatal Care Only (Cannot birth in these units)
The Maternity Hub at the Causeway Hospital
Lagan Valley Hospital Midwife Led Unit
Downe Hospital Midwife Led Unit
South West Acute Hospital Midwife Led Unit
Self Referral Forms
There is no need to attend your GP to make a referral to maternity services, you can access the self referral process online. You do also have the option of giving birth in a hospital in a different health trust to the one you. You can find the links for each trust below.
If you want to discuss your options for where to give birth we can help!
At All About Birth we have supported families giving birth in many different units and at home. We can support you with talking to your midwife or doctor about your preferences. Check out our advocacy options or have a chat with us about doula support.
