STAFF at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford celebrated 50 years of maternity services at their Women's Centre with ice creams and cakes.

Oxford University Hospital’s maternity services see an average of 600 births every month, with most babies born at the centre.

In the last year alone, 7,720 babies were delivered, with the smallest being 96 grams and the biggest 14lb 15oz. In 2010, sextuplets were born at the John Radcliffe, following quintuplets in 2008.

Sam Foster, chief nursing officer at the trust, said: "The Women's Centre teams have grown from strength to strength over the last 50 years, offering not just excellent care for Oxfordshire women, and their families but also becoming a specialist centre serving a much wider geography with our expertise in maternity and newborn services.

"I would like to thank all our staff in the Women's Centre for their hard work and dedication and delivery of compassionate  patient care."

The Newborn Intensive Care Unit at the centre currently has over 200 members of staff, taking care of around 800 newborns each year who are born prematurely or have health conditions at birth which require additional care and support.

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This story was written by Anna Colivicchi, she joined the team this year and covers health stories for the Oxfordshire papers. 

Get in touch with her by emailing: Anna.colivicchi@newsquest.co.uk

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