Maternity Assessment Unit (MAU)

The Maternity Assessment Unit (MAU) is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can access MAU from 16 weeks of pregnancy until 6 weeks after your baby is born. MAU is like the Emergency Department (A&E) but for pregnancy related problems.

You can call MAU for advice on 0116 258 6111

Then for the Leicester General Hospital Press 1 or  for the Leicester Royal Infirmary Press 2

Then Press 1: For urgent maternity advice from a midwife (Maternity Assessment Unit advice, after 16 weeks of pregnancy)

The phone number is also listed in your maternity booklet.

Please do not attend MAU without calling for advice first.

When you call MAU, you will be asked questions about your pregnancy, and the reason for your call.

Please have your hospital number, ‘S’ number, ready to tell the midwife.

You may just need advice over the phone through the trained midwives completing telephone triage. In other cases, these midwives may feel that you need to be seen face to face in one of the Maternity Assessment Units, located at both maternity hospitals.

Maternity Assessment Unit (MAU) locations

Leicester Royal Infirmary, Kensington Building, 1st floor LE1 5WW

• It is accessed by the maternity reception on the ground floor of the Kensington building.
• Please give the receptionist your details. They will already be expecting you. They will direct you where you need to go.
• Once you have arrived on the 1st floor, the door to MAU is found in the lift lobby and is clearly signposted. Please ring the doorbell, and a member of staff will answer and let you in.

Leicester General Hospital, Maternity Entrance, off Coleman Road LE5 4PW

• It is accessed by the maternity reception located inside the Maternity entrance to LGH.
• Once inside the entrance, you will see the reception in front of you on the left.
• Please give the receptionist your details. They will already be expecting you and will direct you where you need to go.
• When you enter the hospital through the maternity entrance, turn first right. Walk past the reception desks for the antenatal clinic and scan departments. Keep walking, past the shop. On your left will be a bank of green chairs. Turn left, walk through the chairs, and MAU will be in front of you.

Please be aware that sometimes they will need to send you to a different hospital to the one you are booked at. This could be due to the reason you are calling in, and your stage of pregnancy, or it could be due to the number of pregnant people already being seen in MAU. They will confirm with you on the phone which MAU you will be seen at. This will be confirmed to you with a text message.

Common reasons for contacting MAU include:

• Tummy (abdominal) pain
• Bad headaches with blurred vision or flashing spots in front of your eyes (visual disturbances)
• If you have noticed your baby is moving differently to normal
• Vaginal bleeding
• Suspected waters breaking (rupture of your membranes)

Your community midwife may refer you to MAU during one of your routine antenatal appointments. Common reasons for referral in from your community midwife include:

• • high blood pressure (hypertension)
  • concerns about your baby’s heartbeat

When you arrive in MAU:

• You will be asked to bring your maternity notes with you
• When you arrive, the midwife aims to see you within first 15 minutes
• The midwife will ask the reasons you have attended, take basic tests, and check your baby’s well-being.
• At Leicester Hospitals, the Birmingham Symptom specific Obstetric Triage System (BSOTS) is used to quickly assess the immediate level of care you require. You will be put into one of four categories depending on your symptoms:
  • Red – Emergency, immediate treatment needed
  • Orange – Priority, aim to give further care within 15 minutes
  • Yellow – Further assessment, aim to give further care within 1 hour
  • Green – Non-urgent, aim to give further care within 4 hours
• If you are ‘Yellow’ or ‘Green’, you will be asked to leave the triage room and wait in the waiting area until there is a midwife and bed space available.
• If you are ‘Orange,’ you will be seen in either the triage room, or another space nearby.
• If you are ‘Red’, you will stay in the triage room and be seen immediately.
• The midwife caring for you will let you know which category you are placed in.
• After the midwife has seen you, a further plan will be made, either:
  • You will be discharged home
  • You will need to be seen by one of the doctors. If you need to see a doctor, you will again be asked to wait in chairs until the doctor and space is available.

Please be advised, the doctors work in various departments in the hospital. This means when there are emergency situations, there may be a wait to be seen. Please be aware the staff in MAU are aware that you are waiting and will be trying to get you seen as soon as there is someone available.

Due to space, please only bring one person to MAU with you (please avoid bringing children into this area).

Please feel free to bring food and drinks with you.