NEW BEGINNINGS AS FIRST BABY IS BORN AT NEW BIRTH CENTRE IN SALFORD

Baby Arla Allen-Gregory whose mum Sarah Allen comes from Salford and dad Chris Gregory comes from Bolton, was born at the centre, run by Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, at 6.36am on Monday 16 April weighing 6lbs 2 ounces.

Both mum and baby are doing well and the whole family is thrilled, especially Kodi Allen, her big sister.

City Mayor Paul Dennett congratulated the proud parents, saying they had added another chapter to the history of the building, formerly a Victorian mansion.

Records from 1938 show the city’s medical officer suggesting that part of the building could be adapted as a maternity and child welfare centre for £70 a year including lighting, cleaning and heating. But when the Second World War broke out the building in Oakwood Park was used instead as an air raid shelter before becoming a care home.

Today, Ingleside Birth and Community Centre was officially opened after laying dormant for nearly three years. The building has been empty since 2015 and was refurbished with support from £130,000 of crowdfunding from the community. It replaces the birth centre at Salford Royal which closed last September.  

The opening of this free-standing midwifery-led birth centre allows women whose pregnancies are deemed ‘low risk’ to have a greater choice of where they birth. It sits in Oakwood Park and has four birthing rooms, designed in collaboration with women from Greater Manchester. Salford Clinical Commissioning Group pays Bolton NHS Foundation Trust to provide the service.

Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett said:

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“Salford people are quite rightly very proud of their roots and we needed a replacement for the birth centre at Salford Royal.

“So we made a decision that meant women with low risk pregnancies had the choice to give birth in this city.

“The aim was to provide maternity services which are safe, personalised and family friendly and those plans have now come to life. We now look forward to a generation of babies being born in this city.”

 

Ingleside is the only free-standing birthing centre within Greater Manchester and also offers additional support to women and their baby in the first few months of their child’s life.

Other facilities in the birthing rooms include high definition projectors which display natural images and sounds to create a relaxing and peaceful environment. This is essential to help the woman’s birth progress.

Ingleside is staffed by experienced midwives and maternity support workers from Bolton Foundation Trust who work alongside an extensive team of doctors, midwives, nurses and other health professionals at Royal Bolton Hospital.  Women can birth their baby in Ingleside 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Salford CCG chair, Dr Tom Tasker, said:

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“This is a huge step for Salford, Bolton and Wigan and our work as Greater Manchester’s maternity pioneers to provide the widest choice of maternity services for women. We have listened to women and their families about what matters when it comes to one of the most important times of their lives as they become parents for the first time or expand their families, and the result is a fantastic asset in Ingleside.”

Sue Ainsworth, Head of Midwifery, said:

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“We’re delighted to be providing this service within the heart of the local community which offers women choice of where to birth their baby, in the most beautiful setting in Oakwood Park, Swinton. We welcome women from Bolton, Salford, Wigan and the wider area to birth with us.”