A new midwife-led unit at East Surrey Hospital, Redhill, has opened to offer a home-from-home birthing experience.

The unit is the newest of its kind in the South East Coast region and is part of a modernisation process improving and developing maternity services at the hospital.

The new facilities include four delivery rooms - one with a birthing pool - and a transitional care baby unit.

Managed by a team of experienced midwives with maternity support workers and healthcare assistants, the unit provides a low-tech birth experience for women with uncomplicated labours, but with the reassurance of still being within the safety of the hospital.

Specialist doctors are on hand in the nearby consultant-led delivery suites if required.

Sue Chapman, Head of Maternity Services at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, said: "Local women can make choices about their care and are encouraged to have a natural birth without intervention."

She said: "If women do need medical assistance, they can quickly be transferred to the delivery suite in the hospital's maternity unit, where they will continue to receive midwifery care, and also benefit from consultant and obstetrician care."

Tara Unwin, from Earlswood, was the first mother to deliver her baby in the new birthing pool.

She said: "Having our son William in the birthing pool was a wonderful experience because it was such a natural and calm environment.

"The midwives were very caring and supportive and we are so happy to have been able to do it naturally."

The facility uses birthing balls, bean bags and the birthing pool to help during labour and features NCT-recommended birthing mattresses rather than regular hospital-style beds.

Last year more than 4,000 babies were delivered at East Surrey Hospital and recent investments and upgrades to maternity services mean the hospital can now accommodate up to 5,000 deliveries a year.

A number of improvements have been made including two extra delivery rooms and additional maternity inpatient beds.

The Trust has also developed a maternity triage service giving pregnant women better access to valuable advice and support, while allowing midwives in the delivery suite to focus on providing dedicated support to women in established labour.

From October, this service will operate 24-hours a day.