They say that the rising birth rate and increasingly high risk births, caused by women having children later on in life and the increase in obesity, has put added pressure on services, along, with a shortfall of almost 5000 midwives in England.
RCOG’s report on women’s healthcare warns that it will not be possible for hospitals to continue to provide the same maternity service as they do now.
To relieve this pressure, they propose allowing women with low-risk pregnancies to give birth at home or in a midwifery-led unit, with the option of a hospital birth still available to them if they choose.
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