A HOSPITAL'S maternity centre has celebrated its first birthday as a midwifery-led unit with some of the babies born there.

The Friarage Maternity Centre in Northallerton marked its milestone this week (Tuesday, October 6) when staff were joined by mothers and some of the babies born at the facility, including its newest arrivals.

Elizabeth Lunn arrived on the day of the anniversary, while another newborn Max Rowell, had arrived only a few hours earlier on Monday evening.

They were given special vests for the occasion.

The midwifery-led unit was formed a year ago, when the hospital’s maternity unit lost its consultant-led care.

A protest was launched to maintain the service, over fears women facing more complicated births would have to travel further to obstetric unit Middlesbrough or Darlington.

But the Northallerton midwives said they were keen to let people know the unit still provides excellent services to women with straight-forward pregnancies, along with friendly, individual care.

Women with high-risk pregnancies can still receive outpatient antenatal care at the Friarage with a consultant obstetrician.

Deborah Hebblethwaite, a midwife and the maternity centre’s manager, said: “This was a special birthday for us and we wanted to share it with the local community as there are still people who think we’re not here anymore.

“I read a lovely comment on Facebook this week from a lady who chose to have her second baby at the Friarage and simply said she felt so lucky to have the team look after them. It just says it all really – we have a great team, providing great care at a very special time for families.”

To-date around 256 babies have been born there and partners can stay in the en-suite rooms during and after the birth.

Among the visitors on the afternoon was Baroness Julia Cumberlege, the independent chairman of an on-going major review of maternity services across the country, which forms part of the NHS Five Year Forward View.

The review will assess current maternity care provision and consider how services should be developed to meet the “changing needs of women and babies”.

Baroness Julia Cumberlege said: “We want to make sure that maternity care in England is the best it can be. We have to start by listening to women and their families. I want the individual experiences of ordinary people to form the backbone of our review.

“I also want to hear from all the professionals that work so hard to make maternity services what they are today. We need to know what people expect from maternity services, what they are like now, and what they could be in the future.”