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Maternity healthcare services 'almost near breaking point'
December 29, 2010
The way maternity healthcare works in the NHS should be altered, an expert has said.
Maternity healthcare services in the UK are "almost near breaking point", the head of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has warned.
According to Cathy Warwick, there needs to be a "seismic shift" in the way this form of healthcare is provided, with a greater emphasis placed on letting women know they can opt to have home births, reports BBC News.
"The NHS is simply not prepared to meet the potential demand for home births because we are still embedded in a medicalised culture," she said.
Ms Warwick added that the RCM is not sure whether the coalition government is on track to meet pre-election promises to recruit 3,000 more midwives.
In 2009, the home birth rate in England was 2.9 per cent, down from 2.7 per cent the year before.
Earlier this month, the RCM advised all pregnant women to get vaccinated against seasonal flu to protect themselves and their unborn child.
Published by Sue Clarkson
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