Space for a baby boom has been made at West Middlesex Hospital, where new birthing facilities complete with en-suite bathrooms were yesterday unveiled.

The extension to the hospital's maternity unit, where more than 4,800 babies were born last year, will enable even more to be delivered there in future.

Among the additions are six new clinic rooms, plus five extra antenatal and five postnatal rooms, each with their own en-suite bathroom.

A purpose-built transitional care area will cater for newborns who require ongoing treatment and monitoring but are not poorly enough to need the special care baby unit.

Mothers needing extra attention after a complicated birth, meanwhile, can receive it in the expanded theatre recovery area, offering them more space and comfort.

West Middlesex Hospital's chief executive Dame Jacqueline Docherty cuts a ribbon to officially open the extension to its maternity unit

West Mid's head of midwifery Tonie Neville said: "We are very excited about these latest developments to our maternity service which will mean women and their babies will be cared for in the very best facilities.

"Our vision is to provide the full range of birthing options to suit the needs of our community, and these new facilities will further support this both now and into the future."

The hospital, in Twickenham Road, Isleworth, was promised extra cash to expand its maternity and A&E units after being made a 'major' hospital in 2013.

Its new status was part of a major shake-up of NHS services in north-west London, which saw other trusts in the area being downgraded and having their facilities reduced.

* For more information on having your baby at West Mid, visit www.westmidmaternity.org.uk, email anc@wmuh.nhs.uk or call 020 8321 5007.