The Princess Royal Maternity Hospital is a

maternity hospital A maternity hospital specializes in caring for women during pregnancy and childbirth. It also provides care for newborn infants, and may act as a centre for clinical training in midwifery and obstetrics. Formerly known as lying-in hospitals, most ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland. It was founded as the Glasgow Lying-in Hospital and Dispensary in 1834 in Greyfriars Wynd, just off the city's High Street. It moved to St Andrew's Square in 1841, then to

Rottenrow The Rottenrow is a street in the Townhead district of Glasgow, Scotland. One of the oldest streets in the city, it was heavily redeveloped in the 20th century and is now enveloped by the University of Strathclyde's John Anderson Campus. Histor ...

in 1860 and to the

Glasgow Royal Infirmary The Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) is a large teaching hospital. With a capacity of around 1,000 beds, the hospital campus covers an area of around , and straddles the Townhead and Dennistoun districts on the north-eastern fringe of the city cen ...

site in 2001. It is managed by

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is an NHS board in West Central Scotland, created from the amalgamation of NHS Greater Glasgow and part of NHS Argyll and Clyde on 1 April 2006. It is the largest health board in both Scotland, and the UK, which c ...

History

The hospital was founded in Greyfriars Wynd as the Glasgow Lying-in Hospital and Dispensary in 1834.

Lying-in Lying-in is the term given to the European forms of postpartum confinement, the traditional practice involving long bed rest before and after giving birth. The term and the practice it describes are old-fashioned or archaic, but it used to be c ...

is an archaic term for

childbirth Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is the ending of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million births globall ...

(referring to the month-long bedrest prescribed for

postpartum confinement Postpartum confinement is a traditional practice following childbirth. Those who follow these customs typically begin immediately after the birth, and the seclusion or special treatment lasts for a culturally variable length: typically for one mon ...

). A

dispensary A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization that dispenses medications, medical supplies, and in some cases even medical and dental treatment. In a traditional dispensary set-up, a pharmacist dispen ...

was a place to received medicine; see for context the

Dispensary movement in Manchester The foundation and development of dispensary, dispensaries in Manchester, England, was notable during the nineteenth century. These organisations were intended to care for sick people and were a consequence of the rapid population growth, expansi ...

. The hospital moved to St Andrew's Square in 1841 and to

in 1860. New buildings were erected on the Rottenrow site in 1881. A West End branch opened in St. Vincent Street in 1888, the same year that

Murdoch Cameron Murdoch Cameron (31 March 1847 – 28 April 1930) was Regius Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (Glasgow), Regius Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Glasgow from 1894 to 1926. He was a pioneer of the Caesarean sect ...

performed the world's first modern

Caesarean section Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or mo ...

. An extension was added in 1908 and the title "Glasgow Royal Maternity and Women's Hospital" was granted in 1914. A

clinical laboratory A medical laboratory or clinical laboratory is a laboratory where tests are conducted out on clinical specimens to obtain information about the health of a patient to aid in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. Clinical Medical labor ...

opened in 1926 and a nurses' home was opened in 1928. The West End branch closed in 1941 after it was damaged in an air raid and a new out-patients department opened in 1955. The title "Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital" was adopted in 1960. After the old building in Rottenrow had fallen into a state of disrepair, the hospital moved to a new building on the

site in October 2001. The new facility was named the "Princess Royal Maternity Hospital". Meanwhile the Rottenrow building was acquired and demolished by the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

. The university re-opened the site as Rottenrow Gardens in October 2003.

References

External links

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Healthcare Improvement Scotland inspection reports
{{authority control Hospitals in Glasgow Hospital buildings completed in 2001 NHS Scotland hospitals 1834 establishments in Scotland Maternity hospitals in the United Kingdom Hospitals established in 1834 Organisations based in Glasgow with royal patronage NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde