A MATERNITY unit opened its doors to the public for the first time without any unscheduled arrivals interrupting!

The Rowden Hill unit, at Chippenham Community Hospital, welcomed visitors on Saturday.

They were able to see the labour rooms and the unit's birthing pool.

The event was always in danger of being disrupted if a woman in labour was admitted, but that did not happen.

A unit spokesman said: "We had a lot of mums who had given birth here who came along to show their children where they were born, which was lovely.

"It went really well. We had a lot more people than we expected.

"No-one went into labour so it all went very smoothly."

Midwives staged a demonstration of labour, and the prenatal breastfeeding group put on a display.

The visitors included midwives working in other areas interested in seeing the facilities at Chippenham, and pregnant women keen to give birth at Greenways and have a look around.