The Birthing Unit at Helston Community Hospital has a new piece of equipment that helps to make the mid-wives life while delivering life a lot easier.

After receiving a cheque of £669, raised by the Helston Lions Club, the team at the unit brought a waterproof fetal doppler, which is a hand-held ultra-sound transducer used to detect the heart beat of an unborn baby. This piece of equipment will be used as part of the birthing pool.

Community team leader, Angela Whittaker, said: “It is absolutely wonderful. It makes our life a lot easier. It helps the women stay in the water for longer in a comfortable position. So, it is great for the midwives and for the women.”

Lions Club member and previous Helston Mayor, John Boase, said: “The money was raised over the Christmas period by ladies of the club who knitted Christmas decorations that were sold in many of the retail shops in and around Helston.”

The knitted decorations proved to be very popular among Christmas shoppers and the cheque of the proceeds was presented to the birthing unit back in January, but the new piece of equipment only arrived at the unit recently.

This is one of many fundraising achievements from the Lions Club, who work to raise money for charitable courses local to home and world-wide. Recently they have been involved in the fundraising activities that the owners of Balti Curries in Falmouth have been doing to raise money for their friends and family who have been affected by the earthquake in Nepal.

Mr Boase added: “We are looking for members to join. We meet the first Tuesday of every month in the Merchants Bar, and it is an open invitation.”