Professor Philip Baker and his team at the Maternal and Fetal Research Centre, St Mary's Hospital - Manchester

The Worshipful Company of Innholders donated £8,000 to pay for the purchase of a Hypoxic Organ Bath Chamber for the Manchester Maternal & Fetal Research Centre. This piece of equipment was invaluable in allowing our researchers to prove that oxygen starvation (hypoxia) of the muscles in the uterus will stop the muscles from contracting. These findings have been of paramount importance in the clinical treatment of women in labour by suggesting that dehydration causes hypoxia and that fluids should be administered to the patient as a priority.