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Botany Downs Primary Birthing Unit

Public Service, Obstetrics (Maternity), Maternity/Birthing Facilities

Description

Botany Downs Birthing Unit from Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau on Vimeo.

Botany Downs "Whare Tapu" is the natural place to have your baby. The name gifted to Botany Downs Primary Birthing Unit in a special ceremony by the people of the local Tainui iwi is Whare Tapu. This conceptual meaning alludes to the most sacred beginning of life - the birth of a child.

The unit is a purpose-built facility located on Botany Rd, near the Botany Town Centre, that provides a quiet, pleasant environment in which you can have your baby in your way. It serves the Howick, Pakuranga, Whitford, Botany, Dannemora, Flatbush, Ōtara, Manukau and Redoubt Rd areas. However, low risk women from other areas are welcome to also use this facility.

Features of the Unit include:

5 birthing rooms (2 with labour pools)
Postnatal accommodation for 15 women
Approximately 400 women birth in this unit per year
Approximately 1500 women transfer from a base hospital for their postnatal stay
Baby Friendly Hospital reaccredited in 2018. The unit prides itself in supporting women who choose to breastfeed with a high exclusive breastfeeding rate on discharge. Lactation Consultant clinic at unit once a week.
Caseloading midwives clinics
Lead Maternity Carers run clinics at Botany Birthing Unit

Fees and Charges Description

Maternity care in New Zealand is funded by the government for:

New Zealand citizens
permanent residents
those who meet the Ministry of Health eligibility criteria.

To find out if you are eligible for free care, please check the Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora guide to eligibility for public health services.

If you need more help please contact the Eligibility Officer at Middlemore Hospital on 276-0060 or

If you are not eligible for funded care, you will need to pay the full cost of any care or treatment you have from Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau.

Procedures / Treatments

List of Self Employed and Team Midwives at Botany

Full continuity of care care during pregnancy, labour/birth and postnatal. Please phone midwives between 8:30am and 5pm weekdays, for bookings. List of midwives at Botany Downs Birthing Unit (PDF, 163.7 KB) A list of midwives at Botany Downs Birthing Unit who provide full continuity of care during pregnancy, labour/birth and postnatal.

Full continuity of care care during pregnancy, labour/birth and postnatal. Please phone midwives between 8:30am and 5pm weekdays, for bookings.

List of midwives at Botany Downs Birthing Unit (PDF, 163.7 KB)
A list of midwives at Botany Downs Birthing Unit who provide full continuity of care during pregnancy, labour/birth and postnatal.

Interpreting and Translation Services (ITS)

Welcome to the Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau Interpreting and Translation Service. ITS is affiliated to Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau and provides interpreting and translation service solutions to a number of government and private agencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As part of our commitment to providing a quality service, interpreting is provided free within Counties Manukau District and to Primary Healthcare providers. The use of interpreters is highly recommended; interpreting services are important to healthcare as they allow complete communication between a patient and the healthcare provider. Failing to use a competent interpreter runs a high risk of inadequate communication that could result in misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment. The service currently employs over 230 dedicated interpreters who are available to interpret assignments in more than 90 languages and dialects. We pride ourselves on being able to offer some of the best interpreters who specialise in the areas of Medical, Courts, Police and Government Agency interpreting. Our team of interpreters and translators work to meet service requirements and deadlines by providing interpreting on site, via the telephone or video conferencing. Native speaking interpreters and translators interpret in Asian - African - European - Middle Eastern – and Pacific Island languages. Our booking office is based in the Call Centre at the Manukau SuperClinic in Manurewa, South Auckland. It is staffed by a team of coordinators from 8:00am – 4:30pm, Monday to Friday. After hours is managed by the South Pacific Air Ambulance Service who are specialists in dealing with urgent requests. The same booking processes are followed however, due to the urgent nature of after hours requests, you need to phone through details of your request. They will look after the rest. Contact our office on (09) 276 0014 or email

Welcome to the Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau Interpreting and Translation Service.

ITS is affiliated to Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau and provides interpreting and translation service solutions to a number of government and private agencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

As part of our commitment to providing a quality service, interpreting is provided free within Counties Manukau District and to Primary Healthcare providers. The use of interpreters is highly recommended; interpreting services are important to healthcare as they allow complete communication between a patient and the healthcare provider. Failing to use a competent interpreter runs a high risk of inadequate communication that could result in misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment.

The service currently employs over 230 dedicated interpreters who are available to interpret assignments in more than 90 languages and dialects. We pride ourselves on being able to offer some of the best interpreters who specialise in the areas of Medical, Courts, Police and Government Agency interpreting.

Our team of interpreters and translators work to meet service requirements and deadlines by providing interpreting on site, via the telephone or video conferencing. Native speaking interpreters and translators interpret in Asian - African - European - Middle Eastern – and Pacific Island languages.

Our booking office is based in the Call Centre at the Manukau SuperClinic in Manurewa, South Auckland. It is staffed by a team of coordinators from 8:00am – 4:30pm, Monday to Friday. After hours is managed by the South Pacific Air Ambulance Service who are specialists in dealing with urgent requests. The same booking processes are followed however, due to the urgent nature of after hours requests, you need to phone through details of your request. They will look after the rest.

Contact our office on (09) 276 0014 or email

Smokefree Service

Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau promotes good health and is committed to the Smokefree Policy. At all of our locations: All outdoor areas are smoke free All indoor areas are smoke free The Smokefree Policy applies to: All patients All visitors All staff (including contracted workers) Counties Manukau District provides a smoking cessation service. If you are (or have recently been) a patient at Middlemore Hospital, Manukau SuperClinic or any of our outreach clinics, then you can be referred to this service. Ask any staff member who has been involved in your care to refer you. For more information about Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau Living Smokefree Service and how they can assist you to quit smoking click here.

Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau promotes good health and is committed to the Smokefree Policy. At all of our locations:

All outdoor areas are smoke free
All indoor areas are smoke free

The Smokefree Policy applies to:

All patients
All visitors
All staff (including contracted workers)

Counties Manukau District provides a smoking cessation service. If you are (or have recently been) a patient at Middlemore Hospital, Manukau SuperClinic or any of our outreach clinics, then you can be referred to this service. Ask any staff member who has been involved in your care to refer you.

For more information about Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau Living Smokefree Service and how they can assist you to quit smoking click here.

Complaints - Feedback

We would appreciate you taking the time to provide us with your feedback and we welcome your comments. For more information, please complete our online feedback form.

We would appreciate you taking the time to provide us with your feedback and we welcome your comments.

For more information, please complete our online feedback form.

Information Pamphlets for Women

Click here to view a full list of pamphlets for pregnant women. The link will take you to the Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau Maternity Service page.

Document Downloads

Breastfeeding Support in South Auckland (PDF, 381.3 KB)
October 2022
Options for Maternity Care in Counties Manukau Health Facilities (PDF, 4.3 MB)
Information to help you find a midwife or choose a birth location

Visiting Hours

Visiting times are between 2.00pm and 8.00pm.
Rest, recovery and learning how to care for baby are the aims of the postnatal hospital stay. To ensure this happens, visiting times and the number of people allowed to visit are limited.

Fathers of the newborn babies are welcome to visit any time during daytime hours.
Children are also welcome but we ask that they are supervised by an adult and do not run around the ward.

If you wish to visit outside these hours, please discuss this with your Midwife beforehand.

Please refrain from visiting if your children are unwell with illness, including flu or chickenpox.

Refreshments

There are no facilities available on site to purchase refreshments.

A cafe and takeaway shops are located within a short walking distance of the Birthing Unit.

Travel Directions

Botany Downs Primary Birthing Unit is located next to Botany SuperClinic.

If you are travelling from the south (Papakura, Pukekohe etc) on the southern motorway take the Manukau City exit, turn right and travel north up the Great South Rd then turn right into Te Irirangi Drive.

If you are travelling South from Auckland on the southern motorway take the Te Irirangi Drive exit and turn left onto Te Irirangi Drive.

Te Irirangi Drive intersection at Botany Town Centre; straight ahead for Botany Rd.

If you are travelling from the eastern suburbs the main route to take is along Ti Rakau Drive. Turn left into Botany Road just before the main shopping area of Botany Town Centre (Te Irirangi intersection).

Public Transport

A sheltered bus stop is located just outside the Botany Downs Maternity Unit.
For further bus information, see https://at.govt.nz/ Timetables, or phone 09-366 6400 or toll-free on 0800 10 30 80 if outside the local calling area.

Parking

There is plenty of free parking available to all patients and visitors.

Patients may be set down or picked up from outside the main entrance. Please consider others and remove cars as soon as possible.

Accommodation

The unit has the following room layout:

6 single
3 x two bedded
1 x three bedded

Women in the area who birth at Middlemore Hospital and are well after the birth, will need to transfer to Botany Birthing Unit for their postnatal stay.