Patients undergoing fertility treatment could soon be receiving their care in brand new, state of the art facilities.

The Hull IVF Unit has submitted an application to East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s planning team to build a new, two-storey treatment unit at the Hesslewood Estate, close to the Humber Bridge.

Clinicians working at the Hull IVF Unit say the current unit’s location within Hull Women and Children’s Hospital is limiting its ability to meet rising demand from NHS and private patients across the region.  A new facility would not only enable the team to continue growing in both the physical and technological sense, but would also provide a better, more sensitive patient experience.

The working relationship between the Hull IVF Unit and the local NHS is a long one and the Unit will continue to work closely with its NHS partners.

Dr Christine Leary, Consultant Embryologist at the Hull IVF Unit (pictured) says:

“The Hull IVF Unit is one of the most successful fertility treatment centres in the country. We provide over 400 treatment cycles for our patients every year, and our work continues to attract a growing number of patients seeking both NHS-funded and private treatment.

“Our patients come from all across the Yorkshire and the Humber area, so the right location and modern facilities are vital in enabling us to deliver the best possible patient care. After considering various options, we decided that a new, purpose built clinic would be the best solution to enable us to continue our growth and deliver a more suitable environment to meet our patients’ needs.”

The proposed building would contain state of the art, high tech treatment facilities as well as patient areas, a staff office and facilities, recovery rooms and a spacious waiting area. Dedicated private parking for the exclusive use of staff and patients would also be available.

Dr Leary continues:

“We regularly ask for feedback from our patients and with a satisfaction rating of 97.5%, we know we’re providing an excellent patient service, but one thing our patients comment on regularly is the unit’s current location within the Women and Children’s Hospital.

“Our patients can sometimes require multiple cycles of IVF treatment, and having to walk past lots of new parents and expectant mums can be incredibly difficult to deal with if you’re struggling to conceive. A new unit such as the one we’re looking to develop, in calm surroundings away from the hospital site, would take away a lot of that angst for those receiving treatment, some of whom may have been trying for a baby for years without success.”

Hull IVF Unit’s Practice Manager, Pam Andrew, has written to all patients to advise them of the plans and pledged to ensure the move has no negative impact on their treatment.

The planning application will be considered by East Riding of Yorkshire Council and, subject to the necessary approvals, work could begin as early as the New Year and the unit could be operational by early 2020.

A marathon runner who suffered a cardiac arrest after a yoga class has run 10k alongside a physiotherapist who helped him back to health.

Mike Aramayo, 53, had a heart attack in Hull City Centre and was rushed to the specialist cardiology centre at Castle Hill Hospital.

However, he went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated before he was taken into the operating theatre to have life-saving surgery.

Now, Mike has praised the Cardiac Rehabilitation Team after the team of physiotherapists helped him achieve his dream of running 10k within four months.

He said: “The whole team are absolutely amazing people and I cannot thank them enough.

“They gave me the courage to think I could get back to normal.

“They were always so positive, telling me I could have my life back again, and I don’t think I could have done this without their support.”

Mike, a managing director at a manufacturing firm in Burnley employing 800 people, lives in Hull with wife Joanne and they have three children – actress daughter Laura, 27, son Robert, 25, who has appeared in Game of Thrones and is currently in Hollywood filming and 20-year-old Charleigh, who is studying criminology.

A keen sportsman, Mike ran the London Marathon in 2016, completed the Great North Run and numerous 10k races. He also played football and squash.

He attended a yoga session every week and had just finished a class on May 3 when he became unwell.

“I was sitting in the changing room and this overwhelming tiredness came on me,” Mike said. “I had a shower but it kept getting worse and worse.

“By the time I got to my car, I couldn’t lift my bag up and started sweating. I then felt this massive pain in my chest and I knew I was in trouble.”

He managed to dial 999 but couldn’t speak so a woman stopped to help him and stayed with him until the ambulance arrived. The woman also answered his phone to Robert, who had only arrived back in Hull from New York the night before, and told him about his dad.

Robert arrived in time to accompany Mike to Castle Hill, alerting his mother and two sisters on the way, before they arrived at the hospital where Mike went into cardiac arrest.

“I was given two shots of morphine for the pain in the ambulance and don’t remember much,” Mike said. “I just remember brilliant white lights, then everything going dark, and then everything lighting up again.”

Mike was saved by the centre’s life-saving team before he went into theatre to have two stents fitted to keep his arteries open.

He spent three days in Intensive Care and a further night on a ward before he was allowed home, his heart back working at 90 per cent of its original capacity because of his baseline fitness.

He started a 16-visit programme over eight weeks, working with the Cardiac Rehabilitation Team at Hull Royal Infirmary.

“I told them my aim as soon as I went in there,” he said. “They knew how fit I’d been and I said my biggest goal was to run a 10k.

“And I did it on my very last session, with Oliver Sherwood, one of the physios, running on the treadmill alongside me.”

Despite his speedy return to health, Mike says the psychological barrier of having a heart attack was his toughest battle.

He said: “The psychological impact of having a heart attack is one of the biggest things you need to address.

“I think there are lots of people who have heart attacks and don’t believe it’s possible to get back to normal.

“Don’t get me wrong, I was very cautious at first and did everything they told me to do. I walked, cycled and I changed my diet, losing a stone even ‘though I wasn’t overweight before and no-one could give me a reason why I had a heart attack.

“I’ve taken these positive steps and I would love to be the person who goes in front of other people who have had heart attacks and says you can do it too.”

Oliver Sherwood, who ran the 10k with Mike, said: “Mike did absolutely brilliantly and he was fully committed to his rehab.

“He has achieved a huge goal of running 10k sixteen weeks after suffering a cardiac arrest. It really shows that our colleagues in the theatres at CHH do an amazing job.

“The whole of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Team are happy that we have been able to support and encourage Mike and our other patients in their journey.

“It’s hugely satisfying that we are able to make a difference to people following a cardiac event, be it running a 10k, playing with the grandkids or just feeling that life isn’t over following a heart attack.”

A great-grandmother born in the year the NHS was created has no plans to retire despite devoting almost 40 years to caring for patients.

Sue Worrall joined the NHS almost 44 years ago, working at Withernsea Hospital and the Royal Berkshire Hospital before joining Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Now, after 20 years in the Haematology Department in the Chemotherapy Day Unit at the Queen’s Centre, Sue has no intention of retiring despite celebrating her 70^th birthday this month.

“The best part of my job is being with patients,” she said. “I just love it.

“We see them at a very difficult time in their lives so if you can cheer them up, it’s good.”

Sue, who has two children, four grand-daughters and two great grandsons, decided to return to work when her daughter was two, successfully applying for a job as an auxiliary nurse at Withernsea Hospital.

She stayed in the role for 22 years before moving south to work in the Colposcopy Department at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.

However, she missed her family and decided to return to East Yorkshire, getting a job as a phlebotomist taking blood from patients at Hull Royal Infirmary.

She switched to the Haematology Department at Castle Hill Hospital and has stayed there ever since.

As a Clinical Support Worker, Sue carries out roles to support nurses by cannulating patients for blood transfusions and fluids, carrying out observations while they are undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

She works Monday, Tuesday and half a day on a Friday, looking after her two great grandsons Riley, 4, and 18-month-old Ollie on her days off. She also has a six-month-old grand-daughter Paisley.

“I don’t think I could retire,” she said. “I wouldn’t know what to do at home.

“I look after my two great grandchildren when I’m not working so putting my feet up isn’t my thing.”

To mark her birthday, Sue’s workmates held a party for her on the unit, bringing along a cut-out of her favourite singer Gary Barlow to help in the celebrations.

Lynsey Wood, Senior Nurse in the Chemotherapy Day Unit, said: “Sue or Super Gran as I like to call her, is truly an incredible person. She is loved by all her colleagues and patients.

“She brightens up all of our days with her sense of humour, supports us all and picks us up if anyone has a low mood.

“Sue truly is a role model and represents everything that the NHS stands for.”

A steel worker has returned to an intensive care unit to thank the life-saving team who cared for him after he suffered a cardiac arrest.

Tommaso Serri, 51, collapsed while working at British Steel in Scunthorpe in May and his workmates helped to save his life before he was rushed to hospital.

He spent 10 days in the Intensive Care Unit at Castle Hill Hospital before spending 12 weeks in a rehabilitation unit at Goole Hospital to continue his recovery.

Now back home, Mr Serri and wife Becky, who have two daughters, have gone back to ICU1 at Castle Hill after raising £1,750 to thank the nursing team who looked after him in the early days.

Mrs Serri said: “We just wanted to give something back. They were absolutely fantastic and we couldn’t have asked for more.

“The nurses didn’t just look after Tom, they looked after all of us and went above and beyond to help us.

“We wanted to see them again to thank them for all they did for us.”

Mr Serri had no apparent health problems before he suffered a cardiac arrest although there was a history of heart problems in his family, with his mother dying of a stroke and heart attack in her 50s.

When he collapsed at work on May 28, his colleagues performed CPR and used a work-based defibrillator to begin the chain of survival before the ambulance arrived.

He was rushed to Scunthorpe General Hospital where doctors stabilised his condition before he was transferred to the cardiology centre at Castle Hill to be treated by the specialist team.

He underwent the procedure to fit the stent at the hospital’s Cardiac Catheterization Lab and was then moved into ICU1 to be looked after by the team of highly-skilled nurses.

Mrs Serri said: “They looked after Tom so well and the nursing was just so personal. They were lovely nurses who helped me through it.”

Mr Serri suffered a hypoxic brain injury caused by the lack of oxygen to his brain during the cardiac arrest and spent 12 weeks on the Neurological Rehabilitation Unit at Goole Hospital to continue his recovery. He was well enough to go home in September.

The family held a charity fundraising night raising £4,000 to thank the NHS for saving his life and split the money between the Goole unit and ICU1.

Maria Lewis, Critical Care Matron at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, thanked Mr and Mrs Serri for the donation.

She said: “Our staff were so happy to see Mr Serri again and how well he is doing. We see patients when they are very ill so it’s fantastic to see them again when they’ve made such progress.

“We are all so touched that they would take the time to raise all this money for us to help us care for people who find themselves in similar situations in the future and we thank they for their kindness.”

What is National AHPs (#AHPs) Day?

AHPs Day is a social movement to allow us to come together and focus on our professions. It is a chance to recognise the contribution of Allied Health Professionals, and a chance to celebrate our skills and achievements with colleagues and the public. Our 14 professions make up the 3^rd largest workforce in the NHS, but can you name all of the professions and describe their roles?

Who are Allied Health Professionals?

Art Therapists, Drama Therapists, Music Therapists, Chiropodists and Podiatrists, Dietitians, Occupational Therapists, Operating Department Practitioners, Orthopists, Osteopaths, Paramedics, Physiotherapists, Prosthetists and Orthotists, Radiographers, and last but by no means least Speech and Language Therapists.

All qualified Allied Health Professionals are statutorily regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council. The professions have protected titles and are governed by an ethical code, to ensure that they always work to the highest standard.

Who are the Allied Health Professionals who work at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust?

Dietitians:

 Registered dietitians assess, diagnose and treat diet and nutrition problems at an individual and wider public health level. Dietitians translate the most up-to-date public health and scientific research on food, health and disease into practical guidance to enable people to make appropriate lifestyle and food choices. Their advice influences food and health policy across the spectrum from government to local communities and individuals.

Occupational Therapists:

Occupational therapists provide practical support to empower people to facilitate recovery and overcome barriers preventing them from doing the activities (or occupations) that matter to them. This support increases people’s independence and satisfaction in all aspects of life. “Occupation” as a term refers to practical and purposeful activities that allow people to live independently and have a sense of identity. This could be essential day-to-day tasks such as self-care, work or leisure. 

Operating Department Practitioners:

Operating Department Practitioners support patients before, during and after surgery. This includes assessing them after surgery to make sure that they can be taken back to the ward. Their daily duties could include preparing the operating theatre and equipment; making sure specialist equipment is available for specific procedures; monitoring theatre cleanliness; ordering and rotating items of stock and drugs; providing the surgical team with the items they need during an operation; monitoring instruments; and keeping accurate records.

Orthopists:

An orthoptist assesses, diagnoses, treats and monitors a variety of eye disorders.  They have expertise in how the eyes move and work together. Orthoptists specialise in the assessment of visual function, particularly in children and those with communication difficulties, and understand why and how neurological defects affect how we see. They assess, diagnose, treat and monitor visual impairment associated with long term conditions including multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, cardiovascular disease, special educational needs and learning disabilities. They can also identify signs which indicate life threatening conditions such as discreet or subtle eye movement disorders in brain tumours, diabetes and those at risk of stroke.

Orthoptists treat double vision, give eye exercises and compensatory strategies and advice in patients recovering from traumatic brain injury ocular trauma, stroke or those who have fallen.

Paramedics:

Most paramedics work for NHS ambulance services. They deal with a range of situations, from minor wounds and substance misuse to serious injuries from fires and major road, rail and industrial accidents. Their daily tasks could include:

• checking a patient’s condition to decide what action to take
• using electric shock equipment (a defibrillator) to resuscitate patients
• carrying out surgical procedures like inserting a breathing tube
• giving medicines and injections
• dressing wounds and applying supports for broken bones
• delivering babies
• working closely with the police and fire services
• keeping accurate records and checking equipment

 Physiotherapists:

Physiotherapists help restore movement and function when someone is affected by injury, illness or disability through movement and exercise, manual therapy, education and advice. They maintain health for people of all ages, helping patients to manage pain and prevent disease.

Podiatrists

 Assess, diagnose and treat conditions affecting the feet and associated structures. Podiatrists can specialise in sports and musculoskeletal foot conditions, diabetic foot management, childrens conditions, homeopathy, dermatology, forensics and education.

 Prosthetists and Orthotists:

A prosthesis is a device that replaces a missing body part. Prosthetists design and fit artificial limbs (prostheses) to replace those lost through amputation or limbs missing at birth.

An orthosis is fitted to an existing body part. Orthotists design and fit surgical appliances (orthoses), such as braces, callipers, neck collars and splints. These can be used to support limbs or the spine to relieve pain, aid movement or prevent physical conditions getting worse.

They may work alongside other healthcare professionals such as physiotherapists, who would oversee the patient’s exercise regime; and occupational therapists who would train the patient in how to perform daily activities with the device.

 Radiographers:

Radiographers take images of the insides of patients’ bodies to diagnose injury or disease. They also care for and treat people with cancer.

Diagnostic radiographers work in areas that include X-ray, Ultrasound, Fluoroscopy, Computerised Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Nuclear Medicine, Angiography and Mammography.

Therapeutic radiographers are responsible for the planning and delivery of accurate radiotherapy treatments using a wide range of technical equipment. Accuracy is critical, for example, the aim of treatment may be to treat a tumour and destroy diseased tissue while minimising the amount of radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue.

Together both diagnostic and therapeutic radiography professionals provide essential services every year to millions of people.

Speech and Language Therapists.

Speech and language therapy provides treatment, support and care for children and adults who have difficulties with communication, or with eating, drinking and swallowing.

Speech and language therapists work with parents, carers and other professionals, such as teachers, nurses, occupational therapists and doctors.

The hospital team saving the lives of Hull’s sickest babies has made it through to the finals of a national newspaper’s health awards after a parent told how they’d saved her twins.

Mum Leanne Whitaker, 30, nominated every member of staff at the unit in the Best Neonatal Specialist category after they saved her twins Kacy and Keira when they were born at just 26 weeks.

NICU manager Kate Lamming, Neonatal Outreach Nurse/Midwife Helen Vahey and Consultant Neonatologist Jo Preece travelled to London for the glittering ceremony, hosted by TV presenter Lorraine Kelly.

Prime Minister Theresa May, singer Rod Stewart and wife Penny Lancaster, DJ Chris Evans, musician Professor Green and broadcaster Richard Bacon were among the guests or presenting awards to the winners.

The Hull unit made it through to the final three from 127 nominations all over the country, with Dr Peter Reynolds, of St Peter’s Hospital in Surrey, named as the overall winner for saving the life of Frankie Thompson, born at 24 weeks weighing just 13oz.

Dr Preece said: “We’re so happy that our entire unit has received national recognition by making it through to the final three.

“We have a small but very dedicated team at NICU and we work so hard every day to save the lives of the babies who need our help.

“We’re very grateful to Leanne for nominating us. Hearing from the families themselves how much they appreciate us means so much to all of us working on the unit.”

Parents-to-be are being shown how to save their baby’s life if they start to choke.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has produced a video to show parents how to react in the medical emergency, giving them a step-by-step guide on resuscitation and what they need to do if their baby chokes.

Trust resuscitation officer Iain Peutrell was filmed demonstrating how mums, dads, grandparents and anyone else involved in the baby’s care should react and the DVD  is shown at antenatal classes held by the trust’s birth education team.

Parents attending a special event at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital earlier this week as part of Baby Loss Awareness Week were also able to pick up life-saving tips during practical demonstrations.

Birth education co-ordinator Melanie Lee, who is part of the HEY Baby team, said: “Babies put objects in their mouth because it’s how they explore the world around them.

“But some of these small items such as marbles and beads can get stuck in their airway and cause choking.

“While it’s always best to keep these items out of the reach of small children, we know accidents do happen and it’s important that parents, grandparents and anyone involved in their care knows how to react in an emergency.

“Learning the skills to resuscitate your baby now can stop you panicking if you are ever faced with a real-life situation where every second counts.”

Hundreds of Hull women have stopped smoking after the city was found to have one of the highest numbers of pregnant smokers in the country.

Health organisations were given £75,000 by NHS England to reduce the number of pregnant women smoking because links to stillbirth, prematurity and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) also known as cot death.

Now, the number of women still smoking by the time they give birth has dropped by four per cent to 19 per cent in just 18 months, the lowest rate for more than a decade.

Healthy Lifestyles Midwife Caroline Clark said: “Stopping smoking is the best thing you can do for your baby and we are very pleased so many women are now heeding the warning.

“To have achieved this reduction in a short period of time is a great achievement but we still remain well above the national average of 10 per cent. Our work will continue to reduce the rate to six per cent by 2022.

“However, it’s important to mark how far we’ve come already and we thank the women and parents who have taken a massive step to protecting the lives of their babies.”

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is promoting its smoking cessation campaign throughout Baby Loss Awareness Week, which runs until October 15.

With each cigarette containing more than 4,000 chemicals, smoking during pregnancy harms your baby by restricting blood supply, forcing their hearts to work harder.

Although it is better to give up smoking when you’re trying for a baby or as soon as you become pregnant, giving up at any stage of pregnancy benefits both you and your baby.

From the minute you quit, you increase your chances of having a healthier baby by reducing the risks of stillbirth or prematurity and cot death.

Babies born to smokers are more likely to have a lower birth weight than those born to non-smokers, making them more prone to needing special care. They are more likely to be admitted to hospital for bronchitis and pneumonia in their first year or have asthma.

The trust works with City Health Care Partnership CIC (CHCP), Hull City Council, the Goodwin Development Trust and Hull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to help parents give up smoking.

Grandparents are also encouraged to give up to create a smoke-free environment for the baby.

Every woman is given a carbon monoxide test at her first appointment and the test is repeated at 36 weeks, in line with NICE guidance.

Women measuring four or above undergo CO tests at every maternity appointment. They may also have additional scans because of the additional risks to their babies’ development.

The Smoke-Free team attend these appointments, ensuring women and partners get nicotine replacement therapy such as patches and vital support to help them quit for good.

Caroline Clark said hospital and community teams have had updates on smoking in pregnancy and practice nurses and health visitors will be receiving additional training so they can help parents each time they come into contact with services before and after the baby is born.

She said: “We are beginning to reap the rewards of working together to help parents stop smoking and that can only be good for Hull.

“Our children have a right to grow up in smoke-free environments and we are pleased so many Hull parents are now giving their children the best start in life.”

If you want to stop smoking, hust text QUIT to 61825, phone 01482 247111 or go to www.readytostopsmoking.co.uk.

Every family member can play a part in reducing the number of babies lost to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, a mum has said.

Jennifer Wakefield’s son Ralph died when he was just six months-old, one of 17 babies to die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in Yorkshire and the Humber that year.

Now, Jennifer works with the midwifery team at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital to give parents safer sleeping guidance before and after their babies are born.

As part of Baby Loss Awareness Week, Jennifer said it was important fathers, partners and grandparents help to reduce known risk factors around SIDS.

She said: “Safer sleeping is not just the responsibility of mothers.

“Babies die outside of their normal environments, such as when they’re visiting grandparents, sleeping in their push chairs or even when they’re in car seats.

“Following advice over co-sleeping, not sleeping with babies on sofas, not using cot bumpers and removing teddies from cots and prams are all things that can be done by all family members to reduce the risk of SIDS.

“By working together to deliver a consistent message to families, we can stop more babies dying.”

SIDS claims the lives of around 240 babies in the UK, with five dying every week.

Around 85 per cent happen in the first six months of life and boys were at a slightly higher risk than girls – 52 per cent compared to 48 per cent – in 2016, the latest available figures.

Mothers under 20 were three times more likely to lose their babies to SIDS compared to any other age group in that year.

Sleeping on a sofa can increase the chance of SIDS by up to 50 times while sharing a room with your baby for the first six months of their lives can halve the risk.

However, the number of babies dying of SIDS has reduced by 79 per cent following the Back to Sleep campaign in 1991, where parents were encouraged to put their babies to sleep on their backs following the death of TV presenter Anne Diamond’s four-month-old son Sebastian.

Parents-to-be attending HEY Baby Carousels at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital, held on the last Wednesday of every month, are given information of safer sleeping and can watch a practical demonstration so they know how to look after their baby safely.

Head of Midwifery Janet Cairns said: “SIDS is rare so it’s important not to let worry spoil your enjoyment of your baby’s first few months of life.

“However, being aware of the dangers and taking action to reduce the risk are sensible steps all parents and those involved in looking after the baby can take.

“Our team of midwives and child care experts give parents-to-be practical advice on safer sleeping so they can be assured that they are doing all they can to keep their baby safe.”

While it is not known why some babies die, it has been proved that exposing a baby to cigarette smoke or allowing them to overheat increases the risk of SIDS. Sleeping with your baby on a bed, sofa or chair has also been linked to the deaths of babies.

Parents can reduce the risk of their baby dying by following this advice.

• Place your baby on their back to sleep and keep them in a cot in the same room as you for the first six months of their lives
• Don’t smoke during pregnancy or when you’re breastfeeding and don’t allow anyone to smoke in the same room as your baby
• Don’t share a bed with your baby if you’ve been drinking, taking drugs or if you smoke
• Don’t let your baby get either too hot or too cold
• Don’t sleep with your baby in an armchair or sofa
• When putting your baby in their cot or Moses basket, put their feet at the end of the cot or basket so they can’t wriggle down under their blanket.
• Always keep your baby’s head uncovered. Tuck their blanket in no higher than their shoulders.
• Do not use cot bumpers or place teddies inside cots, prams, push chairs or car seats

Pregnant women could be putting their babies’ lives in danger by buying or renting home equipment to monitor their heartbeats.

As part of Baby Loss Awareness Week, midwives at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital are appealing to women to steer clear of hand-held Dopplers sold by private firms to check babies’ heartbeats.

Wendy McKenzie, sister of the Antenatal Day Unit and the Antenatal Clinic at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said using a Doppler at home can stop women seeking urgent medical attention when their baby may be in distress.

She said: “Midwives and doctors have regular updates on training to listen to foetal heart rates so this is not something anyone can do.

“What you could be hearing is a maternal pulse so you could think your baby is fine when you should be contacting us. You could also be measuring a heart rate of 150 which you think is fine but is actually masking something untoward.

“You can also cause yourself unnecessary anxiety which is not good for either you or your baby.

“You are the best monitor of your own baby’s movements and if you have any concerns over reduced movements or if the movement patterns of your baby are altering, you need to contact us.”

Wendy McKenzie (front) with (left to right) Rachael Jackson, Healther Holland, Sarah Green, Louise Highes and Junior Sister Carlie Gilbert

Nine babies are stillborn every day in the UK. Only one in 10 of stillbirths are believed to be linked to a fatal congenital abnormality.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is part of the national drive to halve the number of stillbirths and deaths of babies by 2025.

Wendy McKenzie said women usually feel the “flutter” or “roll” of their baby from 18 to 20 weeks. Some can experience it earlier while others first feel movement after their 20-week scan.

Between 17 and 28 weeks of pregnancy, women should to their community midwife if they are concerned about their baby’s movement.

After 28 weeks, women can referred themselves to the hospital’s Antenatal Day Unit or be referred by their GP, community midwife or health visitor.

Wendy said: “There is no specific number of ‘normal’ movements that women should experience. “However, after 32 weeks, you will be able to work out a pattern. Babies develop their own individual pattern that women will become familiar with.

“For some women, their baby could be awake throughout the night then go quiet for periods during the day. Babies do sleep for periods of time but that is rarely longer than 90 minutes.

“Importantly, women should be aware that babies should continue to move right up until labour and birth.

“It is not true that babies move less near the end of pregnancy. If this happens, women need to contact us without delay.”

Some women ring the unit at 8.30am because they haven’t felt movement in the early hours, perhaps because their baby is asleep. They are advised to lie on their left side, eat something, have a cold drink and focus on feeling their baby move 10 or more times in the next two hours.

If they don’t, they should call the unit again.

When women come to the unit, their blood pressure and urine will be checked along with their medical history.

Midwives, trained in the use of Dopplers, will check the foetal heart rate. Some women could be sent for an ultrasound and a cardiotocograph (CTG) will be used to record the foetal heart rate for around 30 minutes.

If the tests show all is well, the woman will be given guidance on what to expect with her baby’s movement and who she should contact if she had further concerns before she leaves.

Wendy said: “Women should contact us the same day if they have concerns. Women do lead busy lives but they should never be tempted to put off contacting us immediately.

“We have staff on duty around the clock who can help you every day of the week if you have any concerns. At the end of the day, we want women to be happy and reassured throughout their pregnancies.”

The Antenatal Day Unit is open every day of the week. If you are concerned over reduced movements or an altered pattern of movements, call the unit on 382729. Calls will be diverted to Maple Ward after 8pm during the week and after 5pm at the weekend.