FEARS that expectant mothers would boycott an under-fire maternity unit have proved to be ill-founded.

Six months after it was revealed that an unborn baby died during a 12-mile car dash between two hospitals, a new unit run by midwives is proving popular with mothers-to-be.

Health bosses at County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS Trust were concerned that adverse national publicity about the unborn baby's death might scare women away.

But with 147 women choosing to deliver in the remodelled midwife-led unit, at Bishop Auckland General Hospital, it seems the trust has regained public confidence.

The death of Olivia Harrison came just after a relaunch.

She was due to be one of the first babies born since the Bishop Auckland hospital maternity unit was stripped of its consultants and downgraded to a maternity-led centre as part of a local reorganisation of NHS services.

Efforts were made to reassure local women that the unit was safe for uncomplicated births, with transfers to the fully equipped maternity unit at Darlington Memorial Hospital available if difficulties developed.

However a mix-up that led to Olivia's mother, Andrea Harrison, from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, being wrongly classified as a low-risk mother, compounded by advice that it would be quicker to get to Darlington by car rather than wait for an ambulance, led to the tragedy.

After apologising to the family, the trust has set about rebuilding confidence.

While numbers initially dipped after the case was revealed in May, they have gradually crept up, and bosses believe they are now in line with expectations.

It is hoped the unit will untimately deliver 500 babies a year.

This week, a group of mothers who had recently either given birth or received care at the Bishop Auckland centre expressed strong support for the unit and staff.

Bob Aitken, the medical director of County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "The numbers of women choosing to have their babies at the unit is in line with the numbers forecast before its opening in May.

"We are keeping a close watch on the time it takes, where required, to transfer women to Darlington. On average, this takes 20 minutes -less than predicted prior to the launch of the unit."

The Harrison family are taking legal action against the trust.