Choosing us

Our maternity and obstetrics service provides care for women and babies throughout pregnancy, labour, and the postnatal period which usually lasts about 10 days after birth. We take pride in providing personalised, supportive services for all of our patients, whether your pregnancy is straightforward or highly complex.

As part of the 2023 CQC national inspection programme, we have retained an outstanding rating for our maternity services. Read the full reports for Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea hospital and St Mary's hospital on the CQC website.

Self-referrals

We welcome self-referrals to our maternity services at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital and St Mary’s Hospital from individuals living in NHS North West London and NHS North Central London. That means you need to live in one of the following local authority areas:

• Brent,
• Ealing,
• Hammersmith and Fulham,
• Harrow,
• Hillingdon,
• Hounslow,
• Kensington and Chelsea,
• Westminster,
• Barnet,
• Camden,
• Enfield,
• Haringey or Islington.

We are sorry that we are not currently able to accept self-referrals if you live outside these areas. We have had to limit self-referrals to ensure safe and high quality care and to maintain sufficient capacity for complex pregnancies and births in light of significant and unanticipated increases in demand, especially from outside our local areas.

We will accept referrals from GPs and other maternity units if there is a clinical need for complex pregnancy care, including maternal medicine and fetal medicine.. Please speak to your GP or local maternity service.

You can also find out your options for maternity care on the NHS website. Choosing a local service will help to ensure your care is joined up, before and after you give birth. Find out more - and make a self-referral.

What to expect when you join our maternity service

When you join our services, you will likely see midwives for most of your appointments, but you may also see GPs and hospital doctors when needed. During your antenatal care appointments, you will have plenty of opportunities to discuss your upcoming birth and find the best option for you. 

Choosing where to give birth

Where you give birth is your choice. You may decide to give birth at home, at a birth centre or in a delivery suite in hospital. Your choices will depend on your personal preference and your medical needs.

Our maternity units at Queen Charlotte’s & Chelsea and St Mary’s hospitals provide midwifery-led births in a range of care environments, together with high dependency units for more complicated care needs. The delivery suites are staffed by a full team of obstetricians, anaesthetists and midwives, and are supported by other specialists such as neonatologists as appropriate.

For more information on what to expect when you join our services, visit the following pages: 

• Our facilities
• Family planning
• Refer to this service
• Meet the team

Our history and research

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has the oldest maternity hospital in the UK and is internationally renowned for its excellence in the care of women with complex medical and obstetric problems. It is also home to the oldest operating milk bank in the world. In addition, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is home to the Women’s Health Research Centre, which is dedicated to improving the health outcomes of women and their babies.

Imperial College Healthcare Private Care

We also offer private care services at Imperial College Healthcare.

All funds generated by our private care services are reinvested back into the Trust, supporting the development of both NHS and private care for the benefit of all our patients.

Find more information about private maternity services on our private care website.