Health chiefs have released virtual tours of the maternity suites in north Cumbria to help make parents-to-be more comfortable before they give birth.
Midwives at the North Cumbria Integrated Care Trust have been supporting families however they could during the coronavirus pandemic and trust staff created the virtual tours to help them be familiar with the surroundings when they arrived.
The tours, of the suites at the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven and Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary, were a really important part of the process before people gave birth.
The trust said: “It’s important to us that anyone who is coming on the unit feels familiar with their surroundings; even better if it can be done from the comfort from your own home.”
Janet Riley, matron for maternity services at West Cumberland Hospital, said: “Having a virtual tour in place is really important for anyone who is expecting to come to us.
“Both of the videos detail what you could expect to find upon your arrival, the different kind of rooms and what other facilities are in place for your stay.
“It is such an exciting time for parents to be and we want to make the journey as seamless as possible.”
Rachel Fulton, matron for maternity services at the Cumberland Infirmary, said: “We know it can be an exciting, but anxious time for new mums and dads-to-be and hope that this provides some reassurance to them.
“We hope that this will calm the nerves of anybody who is expecting to come onto the maternity ward.”
