HUDDERSFIELD’S family birth centre is celebrating its 500th baby.
Little Kaiden Gray made his way into the world on Tuesday at 12.30am weighing 6lbs 4oz.
His landmark arrival smashes the target for the number of babies expected to be born at the centre in its first year, say health bosses.
Consultant midwife Helen Shallow said: “It exceeds all our expectations.
“We thought if we reached 350, we’d have done well.
“But we are delighted with the numbers”.
Mum Kim Ward, 20, of Leeds Road, arrived at the HRI in labour at 9.15pm on Monday. Kaiden was delivered just three hours later by midwife Joanne Hutchinson.
The new arrival is a brother for three-year-old Teigan.
Birth centre manager Gina Augarde said: “We are all thrilled that we’ve reached this landmark.
“It is thanks to all the staff who have made the birth centre such a success and we look forward to seeing many more babies arriving here.”
The birth centre – consisting of six birthing rooms with ensuite facilities – will celebrate its first anniversary in March.
Its opening marked a change in the way Huddersfield’s average number of 2,500 babies a year were delivered.
Only mums without complications are able to give birth in the midwife-led unit.
Those with problems in pregnancy or labour are now sent to Calderdale Royal Hospital, Halifax, where consultants and special care baby facilities are available.
Ms Shallow said the birth centre had been a success.
She said: “The feedback has been fantastic and women are achieving outcomes they never thought possible.
“We are using the pools extensively to offer water therapy to help with the pain.
“Women are also using the holding cloths to help them squat and open up the pelvis.”
She said there would now be more focus on improving the birth experiences for women unable to visit the HRI centre.
