Liverpool Women’s Hospital

NHS Trust

You will be looked after by the Honeysuckle Team. They provide care for women and their families at Liverpool Women’s Hospital following pregnancy loss at any gestation and early neonatal death.

The Team provides practical guidance, information and emotional support to families, helping to explain some of the formalities involved and guide families through some of the choices that are required at such a difficult time.

The Honeysuckle Team can be contacted during their office hours Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm on 0044 (0)151 702 4151 or email: honeysuckle@lwh.nhs.uk

Travelling to LWH

By Ferry:

  • Ferry from Dublin to Hollyhead. There is a roughly 2hr drive from Hollyhead to LWH

  • Car parking is available at the hospital and the Honeysuckle Team should be able to waive the parking fee for you

By plane:

  • Flights are approx 40 mins in duration and both Ryanair and Aer Lingus have multiple daily flights

  • LWH is about 20mins by car from Liverpool airport

  • There are multiple busses from the airport hat stop at LWH. They take 40-50mins journey time and run every 10-20 mins

On arrival to the hospital

After checking-in, a member of Honeysuckle will greet you and bring you to a private waiting room. You will be provided with tea/coffee and lunch/dinner will be given to you both

Staying overnight

There are 2 rooms in he hospital which have fold out double beds in addition to the hospital bed. This means your spouse, partner or friend can stay overnight with you. The rooms also have a separate nursery with a door if you are unsure about having your baby in the room with you once they are born.  You can stay additional nights to spend time with your baby. The rooms are close to the midwife’s station, and further from the other labour rooms. They are beside the ward entrance so you can slip in and out without having to pass other rooms. Meals are provided for you both during your stay. 

After loss

The Honeysuckle team will help you to organise a funeral in the UK if you are unable to bring your baby home. You will received updates when your baby moves in the hospital or is transferred (e.g. to the funeral home). Funeral costs are not covered by the hospital but they will likely refer you to funeral homes that offer free services for baby loss so you won’t have to pay. Note that it might take several weeks to avail of a slot for funeral/cremation.  Discuss this with the Honeysuckle team before you go and see what works best for you.

The Honeysuckle Team have a closed Facebook group for families who have suffered a baby loss. Request to join the ‘Honeysuckle Community Page’. There is also a separate closed group solely for dads to join. Request to join ‘Honeysuckle Dads Page’.

Every year during baby loss awareness week (which takes place globally in November), the Honeysuckle Team hold a remembrance service. They accept baby names in the run up to the service. The service can be attended in person and is also live-streamed. The live-stream can be viewed after the service ends also. Baby names are listed at the end of the service.

Although the team do not offer formal counselling they are available to have an informal chat; sometimes this can be helpful to do with someone outside of the family setting. They can also provide information for specialist bereavement counselling. You can find their webpage below, which has many informative links and pages relating to overseas patients: https://www.liverpoolwomens.nhs.uk/patients/honeysuckle-bereavement-service/

What parents say

“The honeysuckle ward and the midwives / staff there are so well equipped in dealing with TFMR births. Their attention to detail and the respect in which they handled everything for me made the world of difference. I wouldn’t think twice to recommend going there"

“I have never felt more safe in a hospital in my life. I got the best of care. From doctors, nurses, down to the kitchen staff, everyone was so kind and helpful. I felt like I really got to spend quality time with my baby in a homely environment”

Advice from Parents

While your journey to this hospital will probably be the hardest in your life, here are some tips from parents on how to make it slightly easier

Use the side entrance

The main entrance can be quite busy, but there is a quieter side entrance. Ask your taxi driver to drop you off here (On Parliament St at the corner of Grove St) or if you’re walking, bypass the main entrance and head in this way. It is close to the foetal medicine unit.

(Image from google maps)

“We stayed overnight down the street and walked down where we came across the side entrance. There was beautiful art at the entrance and no one around. When we went back, we got a taxi to the main entrance. I walked in and saw baby clothes hanging in the hospital shop. There were teddies and people everywhere walking, having coffee. I can’t tell you what it really looked like, because I closed my eyes and walked back out the door. I thought I might end up going home that day. We walked around to the side entrance and I felt safe”

Fly Aer Lingus

If timing and cost allows, Aer Lingus flights are quieter than Ryanair and have more comfortable seats. The Aer Lingus rows are only 2 seats wide so you will have a bit more privacy with your partner too. Ryanair can be very busy as groups tend to go on weekends to Liverpool. There might be stag/hen groups, football crowds, or groups of students. As the flights tend to be quieter, it might be easier to book a last minute ticket home with Aer Lingus if you have no return flight booked