Welcome to our Maternity Unit
We provide maternity care for nearly 6000 women and their babies each year during pregnancy, labour, birth and up until one month after birth.
During and after pregnancy, we offer both midwifery-led and consultant-led care and our teams are multidisciplinary, which means all the care you need is provided within the maternity wards.
Our midwives look after women at the hospital antenatal clinic, local GP surgeries and children’s centres.
We provide a home birth service and hospital-based care during labour and birth. In addition, Homerton is a leading regional neonatal centre and we will be able to provide the highest quality specialist care for your baby after birth if needed.
Please note, we are a teaching hospital and as such, students work alongside qualified practitioners in providing your care. You will be asked for your consent for the student to be present or participate in your care.
We appreciate that this is challenging time and that you may be anxious about attending Homerton or about the care you will receive when you are with us. Whether you are attending for antenatal appointments, scans, during labour, birth or the early postnatal period, you will be met with dedicated professionals who will have the skills, resources and equipment, to provide a safe and caring environment for you and your baby.
Maternity care is essential and has been developed over many years to reduce complications in pregnant women and babies. We follow Public Health England infection prevention and control guidance stringently, use appropriate PPE and have made significant changes to both the environment of the hospital and visiting arrangements promote social distancing. It is therefore vital that you continue to see us for all planned care.
It is particularly important that you do not delay seeking help if you notice any emergency signs, such as significant changes in the baby’s movement, pain, swelling, redness, ache or tenderness in one leg, fluid leakage or bleeding, significant itching, heart palpitations, persistent headache, blurred vision, flashing lights or pain under the ribs. If anything listed occur, please call Delivery suite immediately on 0208 510 7351/7352 .
You can contact a midwife for advice or support via the Homerton Maternity Helpline;
0208 510 5955 from 10am - 6pm each day
or via email on huh-tr.maternityhelpline@nhs.net
Changes to having your baby with us from 1 June 2025
From 1 June 2025, Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has been temporarily capping new maternity bookings. We have seen a rise in people wanting to use our maternity services, and this temporary cap has been put in place to ensure we can maintain safe, high-quality care for women and birthing people. We have made changes to this from 1 September 2025 following feedback.
Who we are continuing to accept new referrals from
We are continuing to accept new maternity bookings for residents of our local population: this includes City and Hackney residents and some South Waltham Forest residents.
People within the North East London area: this means those who live in Tower Hamlets, Newham, Barking & Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge, and Waltham Forest who are not already booked with another local hospital.
We are also continuing to accept new maternity bookings for anyone who has been referred to us by another healthcare provider or has received specialist care from us before, and cannot receive this specialist care at their local maternity unit. This includes people who require specialist input from Homerton’s Fetal Medicine Unit, Maternal Medicine team, or the ELFT Mother and Baby Unit. It also includes people who are known to our specialist teams, including Antenatal Screening, and those who have received care from our Bereavement team previously.
Anyone who is currently having their maternity care with us, irrespective of the above criteria, is not affected by this maternity cap.
If you are unsure if you meet this criteria, or would like to discuss your referral, please contact our Maternity Bookings team, huh-tr.AntenatalReferrals@nhs.net.
Who we may be able to accept new referrals from
We understand that capping new maternity bookings is difficult for some when they wish to have their baby with us but do not meet the criteria above. We have therefore been able to make some exceptions to the above criteria, listed below. In order to maintain safe, high-quality care for women and birthing people, the acceptance of new referrals is dependent on the predicted number of births in the month you are due, and/or the number of new referrals we have received in the current month.
- People within the North East London area: this means those who live in Tower Hamlets, Newham, Barking & Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge, and Waltham Forest, who wish to transfer their care to us later in their pregnancy.
- People within the North Central London area who are registered with a City & Hackney GP practice
- People within the North Central London area who are registered with a GP surgery that borders City & Hackney, limited to the following GP practices:
· Barnsbury Medical Practice, N1 0AL
· City Road Medical Centre, EC1v 2QH
· Elizabeth Avenue Group Practice, N1 3BS
· Fearnlea Surgery, N15 6JR
· Grove Road Surgery, N15 5HJ
· Islington Central Medical Centre, N1 1SW
· New North Health Centre, N1 7AA
· River Place Health Centre, N1 2DE
· St Peters Street Medical Practice, N1 8JG
· The Mitchison Road Surgery, N1 3NG
Alternative maternity services
If you are unable to book your pregnancy with us, please speak to your GP or contact your local maternity unit as soon as you find out you are pregnant. Other maternity units across London and surrounding counties remain open to new referrals. It is important to book your pregnancy care early to allow time for appointments and screening tests.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Why is Homerton Healthcare limiting maternity bookings for out-of-area service users?
We have experienced a steady rise in out-of-area maternity bookings, which now make up 40% of our total births. This restriction ensures we can maintain safe, high-quality care for women and birthing people.
2. Who counts as “out of area”?
Homerton Maternity provides care for families living within Hackney, City of London, and parts of South Waltham Forest. People residing outside of these areas would count as “out of area”.
3. I’ve already booked my pregnancy care at Homerton. Will this affect me?
No. If your booking has already been accepted, you can continue your care at Homerton as planned.
4. I have a high-risk pregnancy. Can I still be referred to Homerton?
We are continuing to accept new maternity bookings for anyone who has been referred to us by another healthcare provider or has received specialist care from us before, and cannot receive this specialist care at their local maternity unit. This includes people who require specialist input from Homerton’s Fetal Medicine Unit, Maternal Medicine team, or the ELFT Mother and Baby Unit. It also includes people who are known to our specialist teams, including Antenatal Screening, and those who have received care from our Bereavement team previously.
5. I’m not sure if I meet the new criteria. Who can I ask for advice?
If you are unsure if you meet the new criteria, please contact our Maternity Bookings team who will be able to help you, huh-tr.AntenatalReferrals@nhs.net. Alternatively, please contact the specialist team who cared for you previously and they can advise and support you with your booking.
6. I meet the above criteria, but my referral has been declined. Why has this happened?
If you are a resident of our catchment area (City & Hackney, and some of South Waltham Forest) or you have received specialist care from us before, your referral will be accepted. If you meet any of the other criteria listed, your referral may have been declined as we may have reached capacity for that month. In order to maintain safe, high-quality care for women and birthing people, the acceptance of new referrals is dependent on the predicted number of births in the month you are due, and/or the number of new referrals we have received in the current month. If you would like to discuss your referral further, please contact our Maternity Bookings team who will be able to help you, huh-tr.AntenatalReferrals@nhs.net.
7. Where else can I go for maternity care?
If you are affected by this restriction, we recommend discussing your options with your GP or local maternity unit. It is important you book your maternity care as soon as you find out you are pregnant so that appointments and screening checks can be arranged as early as possible. Other maternity units across London, including North East London, are continuing to accept referrals.
8. How long will the cap be in place?
The intention is that the cap would be implemented for an initial period of 12 months. However, we will review this regularly, and if changes are made we will communicate this ahead of time.
9. Who made this decision?
The decision was made jointly between Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and NHS commissioners, and is based on capacity and safety considerations. This is to ensure we can provide families and babies the safest care possible.
10. Is there a cancellations list I can be added to?
We don’t keep a cancellations list.