Rise in birth rate piles on the pressure for midwives

Senior midwives say around a third of maternity units have seen cuts in budgets and staffing levels in the last year.

Two-thirds of 83 heads of midwifery in England say they did not have enough staff to cope with demand.

The number of births in England went up by 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 over the same period, a rise of 12 per cent, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said.

Latest figures in Yorkshire show midwife numbers fell at four out of 14 NHS trusts in 2009-10. The ratio of midwives to births deteriorated at five organisations, including the Calderdale and Huddersfield trust where it was said to have "significantly worsened".

Almost half of midwives surveyed by the RCM said they expected to be told to cut staffing in the next year despite more complex births involving obese pregnant women and older or teenage women.

Cathy Warwick, general secretary of the RCM which begins its annual conference in Manchester today, said: "I am deeply worried that we are seeing static or falling budgets, yet midwives and maternity services are faced with a continually rising demand.

"The NHS will be facing a fall in its income in real terms in the next few years and I have great fears for the future.

"If maternity services are struggling now, how will they cope when there is less money?

"Both parties in this Government widely touted their commitment to maternity services when in opposition; it is now time for them to demonstrate this commitment in Government."

Tony Falconer, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: "The rising birth rate and increase of complex pregnancies mean that maternity services are facing many challenges.

"As well as need for more midwives, there is a need for more consultants to deal with the increase in the number of high-risk pregnancies." Consultant obstetrician Martin de Bono, head of Calderdale and Huddersfield's children's and women's services, said: "We have increased and maintained funding for midwifery posts but what we can never accurately predict is how many women will give birth in a coming year so the ratio of midwives to births will inevitably go up and down."