The freestanding midwifery-led birth centre in Blackburn, run by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, was the first of many positive changes in maternity services for expectant parents in the region. Prior to the opening of the Birth Centre, babies in East Lancashire could either be born at home, or at Lancashire Women and Newborn Centre at Burnley General Teaching Hospital, so the Birth Centre provided a new, safe alternative location for receiving maternity care.
In the ten years since opening, Blackburn Birth Centre, based on Park Lee Road in Blackburn, has facilitated 6,193 births and provided family-centred holistic midwifery care during pregnancy and postnatally for many more families and their newborns across Blackburn, Darwen, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley.
“We are so excited to have reached this milestone, and for everything we’ve achieved in the ten years since we opened our doors to the families of East Lancashire”, said Karen Mitchell, Associate Lead Midwife at the Centre.
“Our staff take great pride in providing the best care possible for our expectant parents from the local area, and our outstanding reputation and beautiful facilities often mean that families from outside of East Lancashire also chose to come and birth with us.
“We look forward to continuing the great success the Birth Centre has had, for many years to come, and we want to thank the local community for their support over the last ten years. It is a great privilege to support parents as they experience pregnancy, and welcome a new baby in to their family.”
In celebration of Blackburn Birth Centre’s tenth birthday, the team would like to put together a montage of photographs of babies that were born there, to display in the Centre.
If you have had a baby at the Blackburn Birth Centre and would like their picture included please email blackburnbirthcentre@elht.nhs.uk.