Throughout your pregnancy you will have regular appointments with your midwife to check the health and wellbeing of you and your baby, and prepare you for birth and parenthood.
There are also a range of specialist support services which can help you throughout the various parenting stages. Find out more by clicking the drop-down buttons below.
Support services
The Pregnancy, Birth, and Beyond class is a free antenatal course for mums to be.
All mums and their partners are welcome. If you can’t come together, expectant mums can bring a family member or a friend. You don’t need to be a first-time mum to attend.
The course is jointly run by midwives, health visitors, and Family Hub staff. The class takes place over 4 sessions in Family Hubs across Middlesbrough.
Topics covered are:
- developing baby
- physical and emotional needs of your baby
- coping with a new baby
- having a positive labour
- feeding your baby
- managing your new baby with confidence
- keeping baby safe
- helping baby sleep safely
- literacy messages
- baby brain development (brain science)
The first class will be around 20 to 26 weeks of your pregnancy.
To book your place, ring 0300 303 1603.
You can ask your community midwife for more information, or check the Healthier Together 0-19 Middlesbrough website.
You can take part in aquanatal classes and walk and talk sessions at any time in your pregnancy. They can help you stay fit and active throughout your pregnancy, and give you the chance to meet other expectant mums.
Aquanatal classes are every Wednesday from 3pm to 4pm at the Neptune Centre (Ormesby Road, Middlesbrough, TS3 7RP). Prebooking is not currently required, but if you want to, you can call 01642 242212.
There’s a weekly walk and talk session at Stewart Park every Thursday at 12:30pm. Meet outside Henry’s Cafe. Booking is not required.
If you have any questions or want to find out more, email stees.enhancedcaremsw@nhs.net.
We offer individual antenatal parenting support, which takes place in your family home or at your local Family Hub. Support is delivered by one of our Early Years and Family Hub Practitioners.
Support is available from the 2nd trimester of your pregnancy (22 to 24 weeks).
Sessions will:
- help you to think about your future as parents, and as a family
- give an opportunity for ‘parents to be’ to explore their roots, traditions, hopes and fears for the future
- increase your understanding of your baby
- increase your understanding of the benefits of breastfeeding and the practical tasks of caring for a baby
- help you understand the need to nurture themselves
Sessions include:
- touching and talking to my baby in the womb
- helping my baby calm him/herself
- loving attentiveness: bonding and attachment
- communication between adults, and adults and babies
- and lots more…
To find out more, call us on 01642 579120 or email earlyyearsandfamilyhubsallocations@middlesbrough.gov.uk.
In Middlesbrough every expectant and new parent is entitled to a free code which allows you to access the Triple P for Baby online programme.
Once activated, you have access for 12 months. So you can dip in and out of it as your baby grows, letting you choose the information which is important to you and the stage of your baby’s development.
You will be sent the code following your welcome call from the Family Hub team once you have registered your baby.
Your Health Visitor will contact you to arrange an antenatal appointment so you can get to know each other, and explain what you can expect from the health visiting team.
Health Start vitamins are available for all pregnant and breastfeeding mums, and for children until their 5th birthday. You can get these at your local Family Hub.
A support service which ensures that the voices of women, birthing people, and their families are listened to, heard, and acted upon by their care providers.
Visit the People First website to find out more about the service, including the eligibility criteria.
Mental health support
You and your partner can receive help with your mental health and wellbeing during pregnancy.
We understand that every new parent’s experiences and feelings are different. There is lots of support available from specialist services. Please talk to your midwife, health visitor, or Family Hubs Worker – they can help you get mental health and wellbeing support that’s right for you.
If you’re in crisis and need to speak to someone urgently, please call NHS 111.
Leo’s Perinatal, part of Leo’s, provides a lived-experience support service caring for parents who have experienced a pregnancy or baby loss, or are pregnant again following a loss and are under obstetric consultant care within the NHS.
Their service is provided by peer support staff, who have experienced pregnancy or baby loss, to offer a safe, nurturing and caring environment for parents to speak openly about their grief and feelings after a loss.
Combined with this is a dedicated trauma service. Talking therapies, cognitive behavioural therapy, rewind therapy, flash and EMDR (eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing) are offered to families to help them navigate life after loss. Many parents who go through a pregnancy or baby loss often have symptoms of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and birth trauma.
Care and support is tailored to each individual, and can be done face to face or online.
You can refer yourself for support, or ask a healthcare professional to refer you, if you live in a Middlesbrough postcode and have endured any of the following since April 2021:
- miscarriage or multiple miscarriages
- termination for medical reasons
- stillbirth
- neonatal loss (if the loss has occurred on a neonatal intensive care unit)
Referrals can be made via the Leo’s website, or via BadgerNet (if under midwifery or obstetric care). For general enquiries, email care@leosneonatal.org.
The Indigo Team are a specialist maternity team. They provide enhanced support to improve the emotional wellbeing of families and ensure all babies have the best start in life. Their team includes three specialist midwives (Rachel, Jo, and Helen) and four enhanced maternity support workers (Karla, Claire, Jo, and Nicola).
You may be referred to the Indigo team by:
- the midwife in your GP surgery
- a doctor or midwife at the hospital
- any other professional involved in your care or with your family
Their specialist midwives may lead your care as your named midwife. Or you may be cared for by the midwife in your GP surgery with additional support from an enhanced maternity support worker.
The Indigo team will arrange to see you at your home or in your local Family Hub for appointments during your pregnancy. They can also support you at your hospital appointments if you wish. They will plan care to meet your needs and help you to build your confidence, knowledge, and support network in preparation for your baby’s birth. You will have the option to have more frequent or longer appointments compared to standard maternity care – this is to ensure you get the most from your care.
They can also provide support and signposting for any difficulties you may be experiencing, such as housing or financial concerns. They work closely with the Family Hubs team and other local services to help you access any support you might need during your pregnancy and after your baby is born.
After your baby is born, they will visit you regularly for between 10 and 28 days after the birth. During this time, they will support you with recovering from your birth, establishing feeding, and adjusting to life with a new baby.
As well as providing individual support, the enhanced maternity support workers also lead maternity walk and talk sessions, aqua natal, and parent education sessions, which are open to everyone to attend.
