ROYAL College of Midwives general secretary Dame Karlene Davis was on Teesside this week to open the low dependency midwifery unit in Middlesbrough.

The unit at The James Cook University Hospital, which has six delivery rooms with en-suite bathrooms, has been paid for with £1m Government maternity modernisation money.

This money also paid for the refurbishment of the central delivery suite at James Cook with its high dependency delivery rooms.

Clinical matron for midwifery Fay Polson said: "The whole idea is to provide choice and the right kind of care in the right place. Midwifery is all about treating women as individuals and tailoring the service to the women who use it.

"The vast majority of births are normal and we can now provide an appropriate environment for these mothers in the low dependency midwifery unit.

About 3,500 babies are delivered at the hospital every year, and two thirds of those deliveries are deemed to be low risk, where there are no expected complications for either the mother or her baby.

She said: "We have had very positive feedback from the mothers who have already had their babies in the unit. They like the room and the en-suite bathroom.

"Mothers can stay in the room for the whole of their hospital stay if they want to, rather than transferring to the postnatal ward."