Phoebe Mohamed with Caleb and nurse Maggie Bloom

It means the unit at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath can continue to deliver 2,400 babies a year.

Brighton and Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust had considered downgrading it so only 500 mothers could be treated.

"We know that women and their families very much value the local service," said consultant Dr Ryan Watkins.

The trust undertook a survey in 2004 after proposing to downgrade the maternity service to a midwife-led unit.

It has been much easier being closer to home Phoebe Mohamed

It found that local women much preferred treatment near their homes.

The Princess Royal is one of the first in England and Wales to launch a maternity unit run by advanced neonatal nurse practitioners.

"Up and down the country, smaller obstetric maternity units were threatened with closure," said Dr Watkins.

"We were faced with downgrading the unit or looking for an alternative solution.

"We believe the future of the maternity unit is safe now that we have built this team."

The nurse practitioners, who have completed a university-based MSc degree with extra clinical training, undertake tasks previously performed by junior doctors, such as examination of newborn babies and resuscitation.

'Incompatible blood'

If the unit had been downgraded, mothers would have had to travel to Brighton or Crawley to deliver their babies.

Phoebe Mohamed from Cuckfield, whose third child Caleb was born at the hospital, said she might have had to go to London for specialist care.

"Caleb was born at 35 weeks because there were some problems - his blood and my blood are not compatible," she said.

Travelling further afield would have been much more disruptive for her husband and two toddlers.

"They can come and visit me here - it has been much easier being closer to home," she said.