Building works on the new Greenwich Birth Centre at Queen Elizabeth Hospital has begun with the new facility aiming to deliver babies in January 2015.

Staffed entirely by midwives, the new centre will have four en-suite birthing rooms complete with luxury birthing pools and a host of other aids to make the experience as calming as possible.

The birthing rooms will also have a double bed, flat screen television and wifi to create a home-from-home environment.

Head of Midwifery at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, Helen Knower, said: “We are committed to giving local people as much choice as possible about where and how they have their babies, and this new facility has been created for those women who would like an active, natural labour and have a straight forward pregnancy.

“We have been listening intently to what women want and are really grateful for the important input that we have had from the local community. This new facility will be the ideal birthing environment for a huge number of people and we can’t wait to welcome women to the Greenwich Birth Centre.”