The Day Assessment Unit at Heartlands Hospital is a busy high-risk-appointment-based clinic run by midwives to look after pregnant women who require extra care during their pregnancy. The unit specialises in pregnancies that need closer monitoring, reassurance and care.
DAU is staffed by a highly trained midwife, a maternity support worker and ward clerk, with access to doctors as required.
Normal opening times for the unit are 08:00 to 20:00 Monday to Friday, and 08:00 to 16:30 Saturday and Sunday.
If you have any pregnancy-related concerns outside these hours, you may need to contact or attend our Pregnancy Assessment Emergency Room (PAER).
Your consultant or midwife may refer you to DAU for a variety of reasons. These include:
- obstetric cholestasis
- baby’s growth
- prolonged rupture of membranes
- high blood pressure
- daily cardiotocography (CTG monitoring)
- referral being part of your foetal medicine plan
- a non-routine scan
- ferinject infusion
- B12 injections
- external cephalic version (ECV – a procedure to turn a baby to a head-down position in the womb)
- Anti-D immunoglobulin injection
In DAU you will see a midwife for your specialised appointment and will have a blood pressure and urine check. The midwife will ensure that you have a plan of care and further appointments in place if needed. You may require more than one scan and/or a series of blood tests in order to confirm what is happening with your pregnancy.
Please note that you may be required to wait before being seen in the Day Assessment Unit. If you need a doctor's review, you will be asked to wait in the waiting room until the doctor can see you. You may need to wait longer if the doctor needs to see emergency patients first.
Please give details of your concerns on arrival so that your care can be prioritised or transferred to the Pregnancy Assessment Emergency Room if necessary. You may be required to remain in the department for two hours or more to ensure that all the necessary tests are completed and results obtained.
We advise that you attend the unit with another adult.
Unfortunately we cannot allow children on the unit. Please make alternative arrangements for your children if you need to attend.
DAU also runs a scan list that is carried out by highly skilled midwife sonographers. They can scan your baby from 24 weeks of pregnancy but do not scan twins (twin pregnancies are scanned by the main scan department).
You can bring one adult with you for your scan.
DAU is a lovely unit where you will get to see the same midwives on a regular basis. This means you can develop a trusting relationship, which can ease the anxiety of coming into hospital. Please feel free to speak to the midwives and ask questions.
Last reviewed: 27 March 2023