Preparing for labour

Hi, my name’s Jaime, and I’m a midwife here at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

On the fifth floor of the Ned Hanlon Building, you’ll find our birthing rooms. When your labour commences, contact staff in the department to let them know. The phone number is listed on your pregnancy health record.

If you’re going into labour during the day, enter the hospital through the main entrance. Please be aware that if you arrive after hours, a number of entry points will be locked after 9pm for security purposes. Access to the hospital will be via the emergency department or by pressing the security intercom. These details will also be given to you on the phone.

When you arrive, you’ll be assessed in our Obstetric Review Centre before being taken to one of our birthing rooms for your labour.

Each room in the Birth Suite and Birth Centre is equipped with fit balls, mats, heat packs, a private ensuite, a bed, and seating for your support person. You’re welcome to bring your own music, and there is also a TV. We have a dedicated theatre next door in case of an emergency.

After your baby is born, you may go home from the Birth Suite or Birth Centre, or you may come upstairs to the post‑natal maternity ward. The ward has 52 beds in a combination of four‑bed and two‑bed bays, with a few single rooms. Each bed has a call bell if you need assistance and adjustable lighting for night feeding.

You will notice hand sanitiser gel throughout the hospital—at the ward entrance, outside your room, and beside your bed. Hand hygiene is very important to keep everyone, including your newborn baby, healthy, and we encourage staff, patients, and visitors to regularly wash their hands.

The ward has a lounge area for visitors and breastfeeding, and a neonatal observation area where babies are bathed. A number of our midwives are also lactation specialists who are here to help you with breastfeeding.

RBWH is the only hospital in Queensland with a milk bank, which offers access to pasteurised donor breastmilk for premature babies if their mothers need it.

Visiting hours in maternity are from 10am until 1pm, and from 3pm until 8pm, with a rest period for mothers between 1pm and 3pm. Partners are encouraged to visit between 9am and 8pm, but we ask them to allow mothers to rest between 1pm and 3pm each day. Partners are not able to stay overnight.

Your baby will stay with you while you are in hospital unless they require specialist attention, in which case they may be cared for in the Special Care Nursery. We provide baby bedding and linen during your stay. A suggested list of what to bring to hospital is found in your pregnancy health record.

Mums usually stay between one and two nights for a natural delivery; however, you can go home after six hours. If you have had a caesarean or a complication, you may need to stay in hospital a little longer.

It is important to remember that you need to arrange transport with a baby capsule or car seat to go home. If you have any questions, please raise them with your midwife or access our website for more information.

We look forward to welcoming you on your arrival to hospital.