The final panel in a major piece of art to celebrate the births of babies born during Hull’s year as City of Culture has been unveiled.

Families and midwives watched as the last panel in “Born Into A City of Culture” was unveiled in the foyer of Hull Women and Children’s Hospital this morning.

Charlotte Gorman, 24, attended the unveiling with baby son Dougie, one of the last babies to make it onto the artwork after he was born on December 22.

“He was originally due on January 13 so he was just going to miss having his footprint taken,” said Charlotte, who lives off Spring Bank West in Hull.

“But he decided to arrive a few weeks early so it was a really nice surprise that he could be part of it. It’s great being here today to see it unveiled.”

Handprints from midwives were used to create the tree trunks and the branches for the artwork while thousands of footprints of babies were taken to create the leaves.

The final panel features babies born in November and December. However, another tree had to be created to fit in all the babies who came to “catch up sessions” after their footprints were not taken at the time of their births.

Kirsty Mills, of Leven, brought her seven month-old daughter Lottie along to a catch-up session advertised by the trust on its Hull Woman and Children’s Hospital Facebook page in December.

She said: “A friend tagged me into the post and I got in touch with the midwives to see if we could come along.

“We had missed getting Lottie’s footprint originally so I was so pleased to find out we could still get it done and we rushed through from Leven to get it done.

“I’m really glad we did it and that Lottie is a part of it.”

Community midwife Sallie Ward, who came up with the idea as a way for the trust to play a part in the City of Culture year, was at the event to watch the final panel being put in place.

She said: “It’s great to see it all completed now. We’re all really proud to have been a part of the City of Culture celebrations and we’re so pleased by the response from the families who took part.”

More than 1,400 tickets have been sold for a celebration at the Guildhall on Wednesday, January 24, where families will be able to share memories and meet other parents who took part in the event.

Tickets are now on sale from Hull Box Office at www.hullboxoffice.com/events/born-into-a-city-of-culture-celebration-event

Families can buy up to four tickets, costing £1 each with a 50p booking fee, to ensure as many as possible can attend the event, with City of Culture director Martin Green and head of midwifery Janet Cairns among the guests.

All six postcards of the artwork will be on sale at the event, which runs from 9am to 3pm, costing £6 for the set or £1 each. Prints of the six panels can be purchased for £7 each or two for £10. Limited edition canvases can also be ordered.

Parents are being reminded that only cash can be taken on the day as there are no facilities for credit or debit card payments.

Visit www.hey.nhs.uk/news/2018/01/09/need-know-born-city-culture-celebration for more information about Wednesday’s celebration.

Around 250 patients with serious lung conditions are benefiting from hospital-style treatment in their own homes as part of a project to reduce unnecessary admissions.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has introduced non-invasive ventilation to help patients from Hull and East Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire stay out of hospital.

Non-invasive ventilation has been shown to benefit patients with conditions including COPD, motor neurone disease and muscular dystrophy.

Diane Murray, home ventilation service lead at the trust, said: “Non-invasive ventilation can keep patients out of hospital, improve their quality of life and extend the length of their life.

“Using ventilators at home can prevent them going into acute respiratory failure where they have to come into hospital, can prevent chest infections and reduce and relieve symptoms.

“For some patients with chronic conditions, without ventilation, they might not be here.”

David Whiting, 64, suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and has been admitted regularly to the respiratory support unit on Ward Five at Hull Royal Infirmary in the past.

However, he has not been admitted to hospital in almost three months despite a rise in respiratory illnesses this winter after he was given non-invasive ventilation to use at home.

Mr Whiting, who lives in East Yorkshire with wife Susan, said: “The cold weather, that’s when it gets me and I’m frightened even to go outside. I always get something like pneumonia or a bad chest infection and then I have to go into hospital.

“But I haven’t been in hospital since November so it looks to me like this unit is working.

“They look after me very well on the ward and are so good to me so I can’t fault them. They’re absolutely brilliant. But no one wants to be in hospital if they can avoid it.”

Patients referred to the trust’s respiratory service by GPs are assessed by the multi-disciplinary respiratory team to see if they are suitable for home ventilation.

Those rushed to hospital with respiratory failure are also assessed by a consultant to see if they might be suitable for home ventilation once they are discharged.

Diane Murray and the other members of her team, specialist nurses Sarah Lyons and Halina Voss-Palmer, then visit people considered suitable for the therapy home to show them how to use the equipment, enabling them to administer the treatment themselves.

Mr Whiting was given the home ventilation system to use for six hours a day in the hope that it will prevent him developing a chest infection and requiring a hospital admission.

He said: “It’s early days but we feel that this is something definitely worth trying.

“I get to stay at home and that’s the main thing because I’ve been so poorly the past two years. We’re really hoping this year will be different.”

Anne Littlefield, sister on Ward Five at Hull Royal Infirmary, said the home ventilation programme mirrored the treatment patients received on her ward but in the comfort of their own home.

She said: “We work closely with the home ventilation team to find patients who could be referred to the consultant to see if they could benefit from home ventilation.

“This improves quality of life and can prevent people having to be admitted to hospital, meaning they can be treated in their own homes.”

THREE midwives marking Hull’s year as City of Culture have double reason to celebrate after their own babies were featured in the artwork.

Handprints from midwives Carly Bowler, Alex McCann and Lois Donkin were used to create trees and branches holding baby footprints for the “Born Into a City of Culture” project.

But the three women’s handprints have been featured alongside their own children’s footprints after their babies were born during 2017.

The final panel featuring babies born in November and December and those who missed out on the chance to have their footprints taken on the months they were born will be unveiled at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital on Monday.

The midwives are hoping to join other families at the Guildhall on Wednesday as Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust hosts a special celebration to mark the end of the project.

Lois Donkin, a midwife at the trust since January 2016 and now part of the team at the Fatima Allam Birth Centre, became pregnant with baby Matilda after her handprint was used in the artwork.

Matilda was born on August 24 and her footprint features in the fourth panel for July and August.

“We didn’t know what it was going to look like, just that the midwives’ hands would be used for the tree trunks and the babies footprints would be the leaves,” Lois said.

“I was so pleased when I found out both of us would be on it after I became pregnant.

“I know Matilda’s footprint is somewhere on the panel for July and August but I’ve no idea where my handprint is.”

Carly’s son Frankie has just celebrated his first birthday after becoming one of the first babies to make it onto the canvas following his birth on January 11, 2017.

“To be born in the year Hull was City of Culture was something special in itself,” said Carly, who started her nurse training at the trust in 2001 before becoming a midwife in 2007.

“But to work at the trust and be part of this incredible project with Frankie was just so lovely.”

Alex McCann has just joined the midwifery team at the Fatima Allam Birth Centre after returning to work from maternity leave following the birth of son Samuel on February 8, 2017.

She said: “It’s really special walking past the artwork when I come to work, knowing both my handprint and Samuel’s footprint are on it.”

More than 1,500 parents and family members have snapped up tickets for Wednesday’s event at the Guildhall.

City of Culture director Martin Green and the trust’s head of midwifery Janet Cairns will be among the guests and families will have the chance to be reunited with midwives who delivered their babies.

There will also be health stalls giving information on children’s services, soft play for the babies and a chance to watch some of the images taken throughout the year.

Families will be able to buy postcards for all six panels of the artwork either individually for £1 each or £6 for the full set. Prints of the artwork will also be available to buy for £7 each or two for £10.

Limited edition canvases of the artwork will also be available to order.

However, people attending the event are being reminded that it is a cash-only event and payment cannot be accepted by credit or debit card.

Visit  www.hey.nhs.uk/news/2018/01/09/need-know-born-city-culture-celebration  for more details about the event.

Tickets for Wednesday’s event can still be purchased by visiting  www.hullboxoffice.com/events/born-into-a-city-of-culture-celebration-event

The final postcard from a City of Culture project celebrating babies born in 2017 has gone on sale.

Babies born in November and December will feature on the sixth postcard in the series now on sale at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital.

Parents can buy a postcard from the reception of the hospital or the community midwives’ office on the first floor on Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm.

Footprints of babies born during Hull’s year in the limelight were taken to create the artwork for the foyer of the hospital.

The final panel featuring the babies born in the last two months of 2017, as well as those from babies who did not have their footprints taken earlier in the year, will be unveiled at the hospital next week.

Community midwife Sallie Ward, who came up with the idea for the project, said: “This is the last in the series of six postcards.

“The project has been a huge success and we’re so proud to have played a part in Hull’s year as City of Culture.”

All six postcards can now be purchased for £6, with individual postcards costing £1. Parents who did not purchase a postcard featuring their child’s footprint earlier in the year can still buy postcards relating to the month their baby was born.

Postcards will also be on sale at an event in the Guildhall on Wednesday, January 24, to celebrate the success of the project.

Around 1,400 tickets have already been snapped up by parents whose babies were featured in the artwork.

Families will be offered the opportunity to buy up to four tickets, costing £1 each with a 50p booking fee, to ensure as many as possible can attend the event.

Tickets are now on sale from Hull Box Office at www.hullboxoffice.com/events/born-into-a-city-of-culture-celebration-event

Prints of the six panels can be purchased at the event for £7 each or two for £10. Limited edition canvases can also be ordered at the event.

Parents are being reminded that only cash can be taken on the day as there are no facilities for credit or debit card payments.

Visit www.hey.nhs.uk/news/2018/01/09/need-know-born-city-culture-celebration for more information about next week’s celebration.

Two wards at Hull Royal Infirmary have been re-opened after staff managed to control an outbreak of Norovirus.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, the organisation running Hull Royal and Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham, has re-opened wards 80 and 90 in the tower block, closed for almost two weeks by the outbreak.

Greta Johnson, lead infection prevention and control nurse at the trust, said Norovirus, normally brought into hospital by visitors or patients with the condition, had been eliminated for the first time since the start of the new year.

She said: “Norovirus is an airborne virus which spreads very quickly in closed environments and among people with weakened immune systems. That is why it happens so regularly in hospitals over the winter months.

“Our staff have worked very hard to control the outbreak. Both affected wards have been deep cleaned and can now be re-opened.

“But we would urge people to stay away from hospital and not visit patients if they have sickness and diarrhoea.

“While unpleasant for most, these bugs can have serious implications for patients so we hope people will use common sense and stay away from hospital when they are vomiting or have diarrhoea.”

Good hand hygiene, such as the public washing their hands after using the toilet, is essential to prevent Norovirus spreading and hospital wards can only reopen when they have had no fresh cases and patients have been symptom-free for 48 hours.

There’s still time to get the flu vaccine

As well as being vigilant for signs of Norovirus, the trust’s infection prevention and control team is also monitoring flu admissions on a daily basis.

There have been 11 admissions of patients with confirmed cases of flu this week, slightly higher than the normal admission rate for the time of year. However, it does not represent a dramatic spike in flu cases at this stage.

Greta Johnson said: “The symptoms associated with flu include a high temperature, aches and pains, extreme fatigue, a blocked or runny nose and a sore throat. People with flu often have a persistent cough.

“Again, we would hope that anyone with these symptoms would stay away from hospital and not visit friends or family members to protect already sick and weak patients and reduce the potential of any infection spreading.

“People can play their part by having the flu vaccine. It’s not too late to protect yourself and your loved ones from catching a virus which can have serious or even life-threatening health implications.”

Thinking about starting a family in 2018?  For every 100 couples trying for a baby, between 80 and 90 will be rewarded by a positive pregnancy test within a year.

Today, Caroline Clark, healthy lifestyle midwife at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, shares her tips on how women can boost their chances of conception and give their baby the healthiest start in life, whether they’re attempting to conceive naturally or through IVF.

“If 2018 is the year you decide to start trying for a baby, you can make some changes right now to improve your chances and ensure a healthy pregnancy from the start,” says Caroline. “We’re here to support you every step of the way.”

1. Stop smoking: If you haven’t already, it’s time to kick the habit. Giving up now, before you become pregnant, will be the best gift you can give your child. Every single cigarette smoked contains more than 4,000 chemicals harmful to an unborn baby. Cigarettes restrict the essential supply of oxygen so their heart has to work harder every time you light up. Stopping now will benefit you and your baby, ensuring harmful gases such as carbon monoxide will be cleared from your body well before you become pregnant.Mums in Hull can text QUIT to 61825 or ring 247111 to book an appointment with a stop smoking advisor. You can also ask your GP for a referral to the stop smoking service. If you live in the East Riding, you can call 0800 9177752 or text quit to 60163 to access free support.
2. Cut out alcohol. If you’re planning on becoming pregnant, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all. Men should know that drinking excessively can affect the quality of his sperm and should drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week spread evenly over three days or more.
3. Folic acid: Take 400 mcg of folic acid every day while you’re trying to conceive and for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. This helps to prevent birth defects such as spina bifida. Some foods like breakfast cereals and green leafy vegetables contain a natural form of folic acid and while they’re a good idea, take a folic acid supplement as well to make sure you’re getting enough.
4. Get the flu jab: If you’re hoping to become pregnant this year, make sure you get the flu jab. Catching the flu while pregnant can have very serious implications for both mum and baby so get yourself protected now. You may need another jab later in the year.
5. Know your cycle: You’re more likely to get pregnant if you have sex around a day after ovulation when an egg is released from the ovary. This is usually 14 days after the first day of your last period if you’ve got a 28-day cycle.
6. Lose weight: Being overweight can affect your conception chances. Aim for a healthy body mass index (BMI) of between 20 to 25. And it’s not just about women losing weight. Men’s fertility will be lower than normal if they have a BMI of more than 30. Healthy eating programmes such as Weight Watchers or Slimming World can help people shed pounds and make changes to their diet. You can also speak to your GP if you need help.
7. Are your jabs up to date? German measles and other infections can harm your baby if you catch them during pregnancy so make sure your vaccinations are up to date. You can check with your GP practice. If you need the MMR vaccine, you should avoid getting pregnant for one month after the vaccination so use a method of contraception.
8. Look after your mental health. Women who have had severe mental health problems such as bipolar affective disorder, severe depression or psychosis are more likely to become ill during pregnancy or in the first year of giving birth than at other times in their lives. Don’t be afraid to talk to someone like your GP, psychiatrist, support worker, counselling service or a community midwife.
9. Be as active as possible: Thirty minutes of exercise five times a week will prepare the body for pregnancy and childbirth.
10. Prescription medication: Speak to your GP about any prescription medication you are taking before you start trying for a baby. They will be able to tell you which medication is safe and which isn’t and switch you to medication considered safe for use during pregnancy.
11. Cut back on the coffee: Stick to the widely agreed safe level of around two cups of coffee a day while you’re trying to conceive.
12. Stop using recreational or illegal drugs: These have seriously harmful effects on a baby growing in the womb. Babies can also develop withdrawal symptoms if drug use continues into pregnancy.
13. Have sex often: If you’re trying to conceive naturally, having sex every couple of days throughout the month will maximise your chances of becoming pregnant. Many couples find it less stressful than trying to “time” sex to coincide with ovulation.

Almost 1,000 tickets have been snapped up for a major celebration featuring babies born during Hull’s year as City of Culture.

Babies had their footprints taken to create a major piece of art for the “Born Into a City of Culture” project throughout 2017.

Now, Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is inviting families to the celebration on Wednesday, January 24, at the Guildhall.

Head of midwifery Janet Cairns said: “We have sold almost 1,000 tickets in the first few days to new parents keen to take part in the event.

“This will be a fantastic celebration to mark the end of a really successful project and we hope as many of the families as possible will be able to join us.

“We are so proud to have played a part in Hull’s year as City of Culture and to have given the families of the babies born in the city the chance to contribute to such an important year in Hull’s history.”

All through 2017, babies born in the city had impressions of their feet taken by midwives and midwifery assistants, with the footprints added to specially designed wall panels displayed in the foyer of Hull Women and Children’s Hospital.

New panels featuring the hands of midwives as tree trunks and branches and the footprints of the babies as leaves were added to the artwork throughout the year, with the final panel due to be added before the end of January.

When will the celebration take place?

The “Born Into A City of Culture” celebration event will take place on Wednesday, January 24, in the Banquet Hall and Reception Room at the Guildhall between 9am and 3pm.

My baby’s footprint was taken. How can I get involved?

People will be invited to attend one-hour slots, with 400 timed tickets offered for each hour. Busiest sessions so far are from 11am to noon, 1pm to 2pm and 2pm to 3pm so book outside those times if possible to ensure a place.

How can I get a ticket and how much does it cost?

Families will be offered the opportunity to buy up to four tickets, costing £1 each with a 50p booking fee, to ensure as many as possible can attend the event.

Tickets are now on sale from Hull Box Office at www.hullboxoffice.com/events/born-into-a-city-of-culture-celebration-event

All proceeds raised from the celebration will go towards improving patient experience in the trust’s maternity service.

What’s happening at the event?

Families will be able to enjoy a montage of photographs taken by the trust throughout the year of the project. There will also be a group photograph taken of the families on the half hour, every hour.

Parents will get the opportunity to meet other families involved in the project and be reunited with the midwives who delivered the City of Culture babies.

There will be soft play and sensory toys available to keep the babies entertained along with “selfie” frames so families can collect their own memories of the day.

Specially designed biscuits designed in the shape of footprints will be available from Cookie Doodle Doo along with other memorabilia to celebrate the event.

Great British Bake Off winner Nancy Birtwhistle will also be making a special cake for the occasion.

Parents will also be able to visit a range of health information stalls to help with the next stages of their child’s development and get more information if they are planning their next baby.

I didn’t get a postcard of the month my baby was born. Can I still get one?

You’ll be able to buy postcards of each two-month section for £1 or £6 for all 12 panels featured in the art work.

Postcards of the final panel, featuring babies born in November and December alongside those babies who had their prints taken in December from our recall event, will also be on sale for £1.

Prints of the full artwork will be on sale for £10 or two for £15. A limited number of canvases of the artwork in different sizes will be available and details will be provided on the day about how those can be ordered.

Please remember that only cash will be accepted, with no facilities for credit or debit cards on the day.

Who else is coming?

City of Culture director Martin Greene will be at the event alongside senior figures from the hospital trust including medical director Colin Vize and non-executive director Stuart Hall.

Can I bring my pram?

A pram park will be set up in the Guildhall but, with a limited number of lifts in the building,  parents are being advised to bring babies in car seats or carry them in slings if possible.

Will I be able to get something to eat and drink?

Light refreshments and snacks will be available to buy. Breast-feeding and feeding areas will be available along with changing facilities.

What’s a “must know”?

It’s a “cash only” day. Credit and debit card facilities won’t be available.

A man has become the 5,000^th patient to be treated by Hull eye surgeons in a year after his failing eye sight started affecting his golf.

Geoffrey Branton, a retired European purchasing director for a major firm, had gone to his optician to have his vision checked when he realised he could no longer hit a golf ball properly.

He was referred to Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust after his optician discovered a cataract had formed in his left eye, affecting his vision.

Now, Mr Branton has become the 5,000^th patient to undergo surgery to remove the cataract at Hull Eye Hospital. Surgeons also corrected his vision at the same time, meaning he only requires glasses for reading.

“The treatment I received was absolutely first-class, from beginning to end,” Mr Branton said. “I’m not surprised they have been able to operate on 5,000 patients in one year because the whole service is just so efficient.”

Cataracts form when the lens inside the eye becomes cloudy. Symptoms can include blurred vision, inability to see colours properly, halos around light and problems with night vision.

While most patients are in their 70s and 80s, staff working for the trust’s ophthalmology service see patients in their 40s all the way to those aged 100 and over.

Children can also be born with congenital cataracts so attend the hospital to have them removed.

Ophthalmic nurse practitioner Carole Elliott-Croft said age is no barrier to the removal of cataracts.

“We would never say to anyone that they can’t have it done because of their age,” she said. “If cataracts are forming in your eyes, we will do our best to help you.”

The trust offers one-stop cataract clinics so patients can be assessed, tested and see the consultant in a single appointment.

The streamlined appointment, lasting around two hours, ensures patients only have to travel to hospital once for pre-assessment checks before surgery.

If the consultant decides the patient requires surgery, staff aim to book the operation for two to four weeks after the initial appointment.

During the operation, the surgeon will make an incision above the coloured part of the eye to go through the pupil so the ‘cloudy’ lens can be replaced by a clear, plastic lens.

Surgeons can also correct short-sightedness or conditions such as astigmatism, where the eye is shaped more like a rugby ball than a football, at the same time, giving people better vision.

Mr Branton, who lives in Swanland, East Yorkshire, said he was offered an appointment within three weeks of the referral  from his optician and was impressed by the one-stop shop service.

He said: “I was seen so quickly from receiving my diagnosis to getting the appointment and then when I arrived at the hospital, it just flowed so well.

“Staff were so good, talking me through every stage of the process, and when I saw the surgeon and he said I needed an operation, I couldn’t believe it when the nurse offered me a slot about two weeks later.”

Mr Branton underwent surgery on December 20 and noticed the difference almost immediately.

“I didn’t feel a thing with the operation and the difference is tremendous,” he said. “There’s a real clarity to my vision now and I don’t need glasses for distance.

“I’m hoping to get back to playing golf next week.”

‘Better quality of life’: Surgeon Colin Vize

Consultant ophthalmic surgeon Colin Vize, medical director for the trust’s family and women’s health group, said: “Everyone, if they live long enough, will develop cataracts because it’s an inevitable part of the ageing process.

“It is always the aim of our highly skilled and dedicated team to help as many people as possible and we achieved that in 2017 by giving 5,000 patients much better vision.

“I’m glad Mr Branton was so happy with the treatment he received here. We know removing cataracts can make such a difference to someone’s quality of life.”

A weight loss group has donated boxes of Christmas chocolates and biscuits to thank unsung heroes working in our two main hospitals.

Members of the Slimming World group in Hornsea collected their extra Christmas goodies to give away to porters, scientists, administrative and patient services staff at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital.

Kind hearts: Members of the Slimming World in Hornsea

Consultant Claire Dyer, who runs the group’s five sessions each week at the Town Hall in Newbegin, said: “As everyone making lifestyle changes by following our healthy eating plan knows, the festive season is a time of great temptation and can sabotage any weight loss plans.

“We decided this year we would bring our leftover chocolates, biscuits and festive goodies into our meetings so we can distribute them to staff helping to run our hospitals.

“We know the nurses and doctors do a fantastic job and are often recognised for their work so we thought we’d thank the other staff who might not see how much the public values the jobs they do for our NHS.”

Myles Howell, director of communication at Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “At this time of year, all of our staff are working tirelessly to cope with the pressures on the service.

“This is a lovely gesture by the members of Slimming World in Hornsea to show our staff how much they are appreciated by the public.”

Hull’s new birth centre has welcomed the first new arrivals of 2018.

Laura Mason, 31, was the first mum to give birth at the Fatima Allam Birth Centre when baby daughter Florence Annabelle arrived at 58 minutes past midnight on January 2.

Cradling their newborn daughter in her arms, Laura told how she achieved her dream of a good birth by delivering Florence Annabelle under water in the birthing pool with the lights changing colour, music playing and husband Chris by her side.

“It was absolutely perfect,” she said. “I’d arrived at the hospital at 10.30pm on New Year’s Day and gave birth two and a half hours later.

“We hadn’t thought about a water birth before but decided to get in the water when the midwife suggested it. It was just so relaxing, the warm water helped with the pain and it was just a wonderful experience.”

Laura and Chris Mason with daughter Florence Annabelle

Chris, 31, told how the first sight of his daughter came when Florence Annabelle rose up through the water to meet him.

He said: “It was just brilliant. Laura seemed so much more relaxed than she’d been at home as soon as she got into the pool.

“It worked out perfectly and I saw her open her eyes in the water when she came up to the surface.

“I can’t imagine a more ideal situation to give birth in and the staff were absolutely fantastic.”

The Fatima Allam Birth Centre opened in April 2017 and the midwifery-led service has helped scores of couples have their babies in a calm environment with first-class facilities.

Each of the three rooms is equipped with a birthing pool and platform, wet rooms and birthing balls which help women deliver their babies without medical intervention.

An option for most women with uncomplicated pregnancies, the birth centre is situated on the second floor of Hull Women and Children’s Hospital next to the labour ward.

Women who opt to deliver their babies at the Fatima Allam Birth Centre can access all pain relief except an epidural and should they require medical support, they can be transported to the neighbouring labour ward in seconds.

Laura and Chris, who live in the East Riding, are expecting to return home with their daughter, who weighed 7lbs 1.5oz, today.

“I had really wanted to have her at the birth centre as I’d heard really good things about it from my friends,” said Laura.

“The aim had been to have her at the birth centre and I was so relaxed and comfortable. “

Patrycja Zielke and Jozsef Balatinacz with daughter Nikola

Patrycja Zielke, 28, delivered the unit’s second baby of the new year when daughter Nikola arrived into the world arrived at 11.42am on January 2, weighing 8lb 8oz.

As her daughter slept in her cot next to her bed, Patrycja said she and partner Jozsef Balatinacz were pleased with their birth experience.

Patrycja is originally from Poland and has lived in Hull for six years. Jozsef is Hungarian and the couple, who live in Hull city centre, speak to each other in English. The plan is for their daughter to speak all three languages.

She said: “I’d an uncomplicated pregnancy so could use the birth centre and it was really good.

“I used the birthing pool and the birthing platform and I felt so relaxed.

“She is my first baby and I’m really glad I went to the birth centre.”

Suzanna Lascelles, midwifery sister for the birth centre, said couples can find out more about the birth centre at the next HEY Baby Carousel event at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital on January 31 between 6pm and 8pm.

She said: “We are putting blue and pink buttons in a special jar to mark all the babies born at the birth centre in 2018 so we’re delighted to start with our first two pink buttons.

“The Fatima Allam Birth Centre provides the opportunity to have a very special birth and to welcome your baby into the world in a calming and relaxing environment.

“We’re sure Florence Annabelle and Nikola will be the first of many new arrivals this year.”