Bradford Royal Infirmary is celebrating its 50th water birth with the arrival of little Poppy Abigail Grant.

The three-week-old returned to the BRI yesterday with her mum, 26-year-old Kathryn and four-year-old sister Ruby, to see where she had been born.

It was a chance for the mum-of-two to thank staff for giving her a “peaceful and relaxing” birth experience in the Isla Grace room, which was officially opened by retired GP Maggie Eisner in August 2008 and named after the first baby born there.

“Throughout my pregnancy water had helped me relax and I’d enjoyed a bath once or twice a day so being in water seemed to be the natural thing for me during labour,” said Kathryn, who lives in Bradford with her children and husband Philip.

“I was actually going to have a home birth with Poppy but I had to be induced as she was 11 days over so when I was admitted to hospital, I spied the birthing pool and thankfully it was free.

“I don’t know if it helped with the pain relief as I also used gas and air but being in water meant I was more relaxed and could move around better and I could stand up, float, or do what I liked.”

Consultant Midwife Alison Brown said: “The unit has an established body of midwives skilled in water births and this is something that we hope to build on over the coming years. Research suggests that water can provide effective pain relief during labour and water births can be a great, straightforward and peaceful way of giving birth.”

The Trust also runs a birthing pool rental scheme to provide a water birth service to women who prefer to have their babies at home.