A RUGBY baby has become the 1,000th to be born at the Lucina Birth Centre at University Hospital in Coventry in the early hours of Monday morning (March 16).
Claire Gillooly gave birth to her lovely baby boy Toby at 2.04am, missing out on Mother’s Day by just a couple of hours.
Instead, Toby, who arrived eight days early, was in time to celebrate another special day – Claire and husband Gerrad’s second wedding anniversary.
Mum of three Claire said: “We came for a tour of Lucina early on in the pregnancy and really liked it.
“The centre looked great and we were very impressed so it was really pleasing to be able to come here.
“My contractions started about 1.20am so we called the midwife who said we needed to come in.
“I was a bit stressed in the car on the way here, but once we arrived at Lucina around 1.40am, I felt a lot calmer and more relaxed. The midwife was fantastic and Toby arrived just after 2am.
“As it was our anniversary, Gerrad had booked the day off work as we’d arranged to spend the day together and go out for lunch.
“Whilst those plans got cancelled, we can’t think of a better anniversary present and are thrilled with Toby.
“His older brother and sister were overjoyed when we told them.”
The Lucina Birth Centre, is a midwifery led unit staffed and run by experienced midwives. It offers a more comfortable and calming atmosphere for mums and dads-to-be during labour. At University Hospital, the Lucina Birth Centre is alongside the labour ward and has been designed to feel more like home.
The centre opened on September 2, 2013 and is named after the Roman Goddess for childbirth, Lucina. Legend has it that Lucina was seen as the protector of birth, maintaining the safety of women through their labour.
Toby Gillooly was the 1,000th baby to be born at the Lucina Birth Centre at University Hospital in Coventry.
