BRADFORD'S birth centre is experiencing a baby boom as it approaches its own second birthday.

So far this year 1,667 babies have been born which is already 150 more than in 2013.

The £1.2 million centre at Bradford Royal Infirmary gives women an alternative to home birth - having a consultant-led labour ward right next door to it.

All care in its seven en-suite rooms, two with birthing pools, is provided by midwives putting emphasis on a natural birth with less pain relief.

Word is spreading about the centre where women with low-risk pregnancies are encouraged to be mobile during labour and use birthing aids such as birthing balls, stools, mats and slings.

It is being heralded as a centre of excellence for the work it does, winning two awards and regularly being visited by other midwives and hospital managers keen to see how it works.

The suites are all named and have a nature theme, corridors are curved and feature murals, and rooms have low lighting and iPods to offer a homely environment.

Carol Dyson, who manages the centre, said: "Feedback we are getting from our ladies is that they would highly recommend us to family and friends which says it all.

"We've already had mums coming back here to have their second babies. Women in Leeds with the choice of having their babies in Leeds or Bradford are coming here. We've already surpassed our number of deliveries from last year by 150 - we're on for a boomer of the year."

The centre has received an award from Sovereign Health Trust for its women-centred care and an accolade from the British Journal of Midwifery for promoting normality in labour.

Another cause for celebration is the increasing number of women able to go straight home after giving birth at the centre rather than having to go back on to the labour ward to be discharged from there - a number of staff at the centre are now able to carry out the same pre-discharge examinations.

"About 33 per cent of women using the centre are now able to go straight home from here which is great because that's what they want to do, they want to get back into their home environment as soon as possible and we happily encourage that."

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