The doors to Truro’s Birth Centre are now open and the team are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first baby born at the unit.

The midwife-led unit has four birthing rooms, each with a birth pool and ensuite facilities. The rooms have been named after the iconic Cornish beauty spots of Halzephron, Porth Gwidden, St Michael’s Mount and Rinsey with large images of each of the locations on the wall adding to the relaxed and calming environments.

The soft lighting gives a spa-like and serene atmosphere and any additional equipment is kept out of sight to maintain the feeling of normality for the women.

The birth centre team are excited to be open after many months of planning and preparations. Lou Pouget, birth centre core midwife, said: “It’s all about giving women more choice. The birth centre is for low risk births and the women will have one-to-one care in the birth rooms. We are hoping for lots of active birth using the birthing pools but also using the bean bags, balls and upright positions to encourage mobilisation."

Funds raised through the Cornwall Birth and Baby Appeal have enabled the purchase of additional equipment for the rooms such as the bean bags, balls and rocking chairs but there is still a need for support for the appeal.

“We still need items for the birth centre although we are open today there are still pieces of equipment that we are trying to fund. So we are actively keeping the fundraising appeal going,” added Ms Pouget.

In addition to the funds for the new birth centre, the BABA Appeal also hopes to enable an upgrade of the existing delivery suite to give equality in the standard of facilities across the two units.

“We still have a way to go to reach our fundraising target of £500,000 so that we can provide the very best equipment and facilities across all maternity and neonatal services," said Karen Murrish, fundraising manager for the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Charity. "We are working on a staged programme with the new neonatal unit and birthing centre prioritised first and then we want to develop the delivery suite and units for pre and after birth so that everyone can get a great service in every area."

The BABA Christmas card appeal asks everyone to write just one extra card, make a donation to the appeal and then send their card with a festive message to the teams at the hospital. For more information go to baba.royalcornwall.nhs.uk.