Hannah Stait and Tiago Estradas were the parents on our brand-new Midwifery Led Unit at Good Hope Hospital just hours after it opened, welcoming their new baby boy into the world!

On Tuesday 20 April, at 1:45am, Hannah Stait and Tiago Estradas welcomed their first baby boy into the world - Joey Des Estradas. For the maternity staff at Good Hope Hospital, and University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) Charity, this was no ordinary birth. This was incredibly special as it was the first baby to be born on our brand-new Midwifery Led Unit (MLU) which had opened just the day before, on Monday 19 April.

The couple arrived on the unit on Monday, just hours after it had opened, and were instantly mesmerised by the unit and felt comforted by the soft lighting, calming imagery and non clinical surroundings. Hannah and Tiago were shown round the MLU, and asked to choose which room they would like stay in. The pair chose the Jasmine birthing suite, as not only is this home to one of the amazing birthing pools, but the suite is blue, which they felt was very appropriate as they knew they were having a little boy.

Speaking to the new parents about their experience on the MLU, Hannah said: “It was nothing like I ever expected. As soon as I got onto the MLU and into the birthing suite, I was so excited, and I could not believe it. It was just such a lovely experience! We had music, the birthing pool, and the birthing ball - I was have the time of my life! I felt really privileged, I kept thinking how lucky we were, and I never realised it was going to be this amazing.”

New father Tiago said: “The environment that has been created is so nice. It felt almost like a holiday or night away! We feel lucky. The home-like feel of the MLU made it feel really special and more natural and I did not panic at all. If Han had not been as comfortable as she was, it might have been scarier, but we were really relaxed.”

                              (New parents Hannah Stait and Tiago Estradas with Baby Joey)

In September 2020, Hannah’s Dad sadly passed away from a sudden heart attack. For Hannah, having her first baby on the MLU provided her with some comfort. She said: “My dad passed away not too long ago suddenly. We told him we were having a baby and he was so excited and over the moon. I knew the MLU was opening, and I had made jokes about waiting out until Monday, so it was really strange to actually be the first person on here. To be able to pick my room and have this experience…I really felt like my Dad was looking after me.”

Tiago added: “Hannah’s dad was on the phone to his sister just before his heart attack and he was talking about how proud he was of Han and how much he was looking forward to being a grandad. He would be so proud of Hannah.”

Hannah and Tiago named their baby boy Joey Des Estradas, as Des was Hannah’s fathers’ name.

The unit has also been special for the maternity services and midwives at Good Hope Hospital. Lindsay Fitzgerald and Beth Bliss were the midwives who delivered Baby Joey. Lindsay said “I had been looking forward to work on the MLU for a long time. I helped fundraise for it back in 2019 by abseiling down a 9 story building in Birmingham! And I must say it has been very worth the wait, the unit is just amazing.  It is everything that we imagined it to be and more.  The birthing suites have lovely features such as pull down double beds, mood lighting and murals on the walls making the unit a lovely, calming environment for women who chose to birth here.

The much anticipated first night shift arrived along with our very first patient, Hannah along with her partner Tiago. She had a look around the unit at the different rooms and chose to labour in one of our pool rooms. She loved aspects of the room such as the mood lighting and Bluetooth speaker system to play her music, with Tiago being our DJ for the evening. Hannah made great progress and had a beautiful delivery in the birthing pool. It was special to be a part of Hannah and Tiago's journey into parenthood and a very special moment for the history books of Good Hope Hospitals MLU.”

Laura Evans, had her first shift on the unit on Tuesday and was in awe. Laura spoke of how different the unit feels to other wards that she works on, saying: “It is such a lovely place, it is very relaxed. Coming into work this morning, it was so exciting to hear that the first birth had happened over night! I had woken up in the night wondering if anything was happening on the MLU, so coming on this morning to find out that there was a birth, was so nice. It was lovely to see a smile on everybody’s face.”

Fundraising Manager, Laura Power, said: “It is wonderful to hear that the MLU provided our first couple with such an amazing experience. We wanted the MLU to provide that home-like birthing experience and we are so glad that is how Hannah and Tiago felt!”

All the staff at University Hospitals Birmingham Charity are so incredibly happy to hear such a lovely story about the first birth on the Midwifery Led Unit. We would like to wish Hannah and Tiago huge congratulations from all of us at UHB Charity, and all the best with your beautiful baby boy.

If you would like to hear more about the Midwifery Led Unit, you can do so here.
Or if you would like to support the new unit, and to donate to the hospital charity, click here.
 

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