Pregnancy can be a time of both equal excitement and worry and NIAS are here to support you when emergencies arise.
During pregnancy, you will be provided with contact details for your named maternity unit or midwife. This should be your first point of contact for advice/ assistance regarding labour and pregnancy concerns. Maternity teams are best placed to reassure you and provide you with advice on accessing services should you need to be seen by a midwife or doctor.
Your midwife/obstetrician should discuss the normal process of labour and birth, providing answers to any of your concerns. At this time, you should also discuss and plan where your birth will take place and your transportation to hospital if needed.
It is not appropriate to call an ambulance solely for transportation to hospital as Ambulances are needed for life threatening emergencies and normal labour is not an emergency. Should you call 999, you could be referred to a clinician for a telephone assessment which may result in you being told to make your own way to the hospital. It is important you respect these clinicians and co-operate with this process.
There may be instances where you need to call 999 for emergency treatment, such as:
- Your midwife/obstetrician has advised you to call 999.
- The birth is happening faster than expected, and there is a strong urge to push.
- Fresh and heavy bleeding (more than an egg-cup full) and continuing.
- Sudden onset of severe continuous abdominal pain (may persist after a contraction).
- Waters have broken and the baby’s cord is noticeable outside the vagina.
- Other emergencies, such as breathing difficulties, chest pain, fitting or trauma.
In an emergency, please be respectful of our call handlers and co-operate with them in providing information as this is needed to advise and support you appropriately.
Please have your pregnancy notes ready for our clinicians upon their arrival (if available) and inform them of any complications in your medical history and pregnancy. This will provide them with the necessary information to decide the most appropriate care for you and your baby.
Whilst ambulance crews will endeavour to transport you and your baby to your preferred/’booked’ unit, in an emergency you may need to be taken to the nearest, most appropriate maternity/obstetric unit for care as this may be safer for you and your baby. The ambulance crew will discuss this decision with you.
What if I call 999 about my pregnancy and it is not an emergency?
If you call 999 and it is not an emergency, you may be referred to a clinician for an over-the phone assessment or be advised to make your own way to hospital.
In an emergency which maternity unit will I be taken to?
You will be transferred to the nearest, most appropriate maternity unit for both you and your baby’s safety. This may not be your ‘booked’ hospital.
What if my baby is born at home and we need to go to hospital?
It may not be suitable or safe for you and your baby to travel together in the same ambulance. We know this can cause distress, but it is important for both you and your baby’s safety that you can be observed, treated, and secured for your journey to hospital. A relative/friend is welcome to travel with you and/or your baby.
I am having a waterbirth, how will the ambulance staff help me?
Unlike midwives, our frontline ambulance clinicians are not trained in elements such as water births. Please follow their instructions, including requests for you to come out of the water. This ensures ambulance clinicians work safely within their knowledge and scope of practice.
What if they want me to go to hospital?
If the ambulance clinicians recommend you be taken to hospital, please follow their advice so transfer can occur safely and quickly. This recommendation is based on the safety of you and your baby. For more information, see the links below:
Maternity Services | Belfast Health & Social Care Trust website
Maternity – South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust
Maternity Services – Northern Health and Social Care Trust