Ed Sheeran helps deliver first baby in new Maternity Unit

Ed Sheeran helps deliver first baby in new Maternity Unit

Amanda Lovett, 27 from Shrewsbury, has become the first woman to give birth at the new, purpose-built Wrekin Midwife-Led Unit (MLU) at the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford, part of The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. The unit replaces its predecessor that was 30 years old.

Amanda gave birth to a baby girl, who hasn’t yet been named, weighing 6lb 4oz on Wednesday morning.

Amanda said, “It’s amazing to say our little girl was the first person to be born at the new MLU, it’s quite an achievement for her.
“I am grateful for the care given to me by all the midwives. They oozed positivity, were really attentive and went above and beyond to look after me.

“The new MLU is really spacious and has a really homely environment. There are so many facilities and options to give birth in different ways. My room had Bluetooth and coloured lighting so I played Ed Sheeran and danced around to get the baby to hurry up! I also used the water bath, which was amazing.

“Thank you to all the midwives who looked after us so well.”

SaTH’s new Wrekin Midwife-Led Unit has been designed to provide the best possible antenatal, labour and postnatal experience for women with low risk pregnancies who have not experienced any complications. It also gives a modern and functional working environment for midwives.

The modular unit consists of:

· Three spacious en-suite birthing rooms, each with a pull-down double bed to enable partners to rest, two of which also have a birthing pool

· Thoughtfully designed outpatient facilities with five consultation rooms

· A new location, next to the Obstetric Unit, providing an appealing facility for mums wanting a midwife-led birthing experience, while enabling closer access to the consultant-led unit should it be required

· Space for specialist midwives to work from, including for screening and infant feeding.

The new unit was made possible after £4million of capital funding was secured from the Department of Health and was designed with the leadership team from the Women and Children’s Care Group at SaTH, along with the Maternity Voices Partnership who assisted with design features and equipment choice from a service user perspective. It was provided by a specialist company that has worked with NHS organisations across the country.