Four more birthing pools for Poole hospital (From Bournemouth Echo)

Four more birthing pools for Poole hospital

9:07am Monday 28th January 2013 in News

MUMS delivering at Poole Hospital Maternity unit will have better access to birthing pools thanks to a £40,000 government grant.

Poole is one of 100 hospitals to benefit from a £25m maternity unit fund.

Work will begin in the spring to install four more pools in addition to the two the unit already has.

The existing pools are in high demand but only available to women with the lowest-risk pregnancies.

The new pools will give the option of a water birth to mums with higher-risk pregnancies for the first time.

The £25m fund will go towards more midwife-led birthing units, new equipment and better facilities like family rooms and en suite rooms at maternity hospitals around the country.

Plans for a new maternity unit were first raised some 20 years ago, and in 2003 permission was granted for a “women’s hospital” to replace St Mary’s which is more than 40 years old, but the funding has not been available.