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Midwives call for urgent investment as birth rate rises by 10,000

MIDWIVES have called for desperately needed investment after the birth rate in England leapt by 10,000 while their own numbers plummeted.

The Royal College of Midwives said today that every English region except London was experiencing increased birth rates according to ONS figures, while the midwifery workforce is short of 2,000 practitioners, with 600 leaving in 2020-21 alone.

The college says the situation is untenable. Executive director and midwife Birte Harlev-Lam said: “England’s maternity services are under massive and increasing pressures as births rise and serious midwife shortages worsen.

“On top of this, there is significant underinvestment from the government. Maternity services are caught in a vicious cycle. 

"The strain on services is leading to midwives leaving the NHS, worsening the shortage, putting more pressure on those remaining, making them in turn more likely to vote with their feet.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We recently invested £127million into the maternity system, which will go towards growing the NHS maternity workforce and improving neonatal care.

“Retaining midwives is also crucial to safe staffing in the NHS. The NHS Retention Programme is continuously seeking to understand why staff leave and creating targeted interventions to support staff to stay whilst keeping them well.”

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