A STATE-of-the-art birthing centre has officially opened at Warwick Hospital.
The £1.6million Bluebell Birth Centre has been welcoming expectant mums since last year, but has now been officially opened by NHS Maternity Review chair Baroness Julia Cumberledge.
The centre includes four birthing rooms, each with their own birthing pools. It features items which do not come as standard on the NHS – including birthing couches and fans – after a fund-raising appeal was held to raise £200,000.
And Baroness Cumberlege said the service is providing women with a similar experience as giving birth at home.
She said: “The Bluebell Birth Centre is one of the best examples of new, transformed maternity services in action. Giving women and families more choices about their birth and maternity care, and providing a personalised service that is as calm and comfortable as possible, is absolutely central to what maternity care across the country should be.
“The team has done an incredible job of creating an environment that is as close to an at-home birth experience as possible, whilst remaining safe, in close proximity to essential clinical equipment and a labour ward.”
