Shropshire Maternity review not a 'downgrade of services'

Sarah Jamieson, head of midwifery at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said the review was a good opportunity to "take the service forward".

It comes after hundreds of mothers and their babies took to the streets in Bridgnorth and Oswestry at the weekend in support of maternity services.

Campaigners in Bridgnorth, Oswestry and Ludlow are calling for assurances that midwife-led units in smaller towns will not face cuts, raising the spectre of overnight closures or being removed from the town completely in coming years, as the services are currently under review.

Health bosses have pledged that there will be funding for the units for the foreseeable future but the details of their operation are still under review.

Ms Jamieson said: "It is clear from the national 'Better Births' maternity review that we need to consider how we deliver our service locally.

“Team midwifery, as recommended by the national maternity review, is not a downgrade of services.

"It is an individualised, holistic way of providing continuity of carer, with the same midwife, for women during all stages of pregnancy and birth.

"This has been shown, over many years, to reduce intervention, increase the chances of a normal birth and increase satisfaction for both women and midwives."

A maternity conference was recently held in Shropshire to discuss the national recommendations for maternity.

Ms Jamieson added: "One thing that was clear was that we should ensure continuity of carer for women during all stages of their pregnancy, labour and birth and that, in order to do this, we need to provide staffing for our women, rather than concentrate on staffing a building.

"This key message was reinforced at the conference by Baroness Julia Cumberlege, who chaired the national review, and our speakers from both Portsmouth and Powys.

“Since 2008 we have seen a significant shift in where women are choosing to give birth and we, as a service, need to respond to women’s choice.

"In 2008, 26 per cent of our births took place in our Midwife-Led Units. This year it is predicted to be 13 per cent.

“Our aim, when implementing the recommendations of the review, is to maintain choice for all low-risk women, giving them the option of giving birth at home, at an MLU or at our consultant led unit.

“We are already engaging with users regularly through our Maternity Engagement Group and I, and our Women and Children’s care group director Jo Banks, have recently visited Oswestry and Ludlow town councils to discuss maternity service issues in rural areas.

“We will soon be going out to meet people in our communities to gather the views of users and other key stakeholders to explore the possibilities of how we might begin to implement the recommendations of the maternity review.

“This is a great opportunity to take our service forward whilst ensuring we provide birth choice for women in the county and beyond.”