Cameron 'drops pledge on midwife numbers'

RCM general secretary Cathy Warwick said Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg had both promised to create more midwifery posts.

But discussions with Health Secretary Andrew Lansley had revealed the Government is "clearly not prepared" to fulfil that commitment, despite the service being close to "cracking point".

Ms Warwick's comments come after an RCM survey found maternity units are facing cuts despite dealing with a high birth rate and more complex deliveries.

About 30 per cent of 83 of the most senior midwives said their units had seen a fall in their budget in the past year while 33 per cent had been asked to cut staff.

Two-thirds (67 per cent) said they did not have enough staff to cope with demand.

The number of live births in England rose by 107,314 (19 per cent) between 2001 and 2009 to more than 670,000 a year. But the number of NHS midwives rose by just over 2,000 (full-time equivalent posts) over the same period, a rise of 12 per cent.

Ms Warwick told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Midwives have been getting by for a while and we have just done a survey which shows they are getting more and more stressed, more and more demoralised.

"What needs to be recognised is the service has coped with the increases and I think it's getting to the point where it really is at cracking point."