|
Nursing leaders have warned that NHS maternity wards and midwives are to struggling to cope with the sheer amount of babies being born.
An estimated 700,000 babies will be born just in England this year - the highest number since 1971, the Royal College of Midwives said.
Modern midwives have 'never seen anything like it' as more and more births are placing the strained NHS under enormous stress, RCM's chief executive Cathy Warwick said.
Maternity wards are on a 'knife edge' as birth rates soar, the RCM warned
The sheer amount of babies being born has not been seen by generations, the Daily Express reported.
A spokesman for the Office of National Statistics says that after studying trends from the last five years the increased birth rate can be partially attributed to migrants.
The spokesman told the Daily Express: 'It's documented in our birth and migration data that a significant component of the increase in birth rate is to do with higher fertility among migrant women.
Cathy Warwick says midwives face huge demands
'That's been a significant proportion of our population increase.'
Between January and March England saw 170,000 births - an increase of 4,600 from last year's period.
The RCM claimed that the sheer amount of numbers has placed incredible strain on a service that is already pushed to its limits, saying that England and Wales are short of 5,150 full-time midwives.
Ms Warwick told the Daily Express: 'NHS maternity services, especially in England, are on a knife-edge.'
A department of Health spokesman said that since 2010, the amount of midwives had increased by 900, but said they were striving to supply more.
The claims come as the NHS unveiled news plans as part of a 25million scheme to encourage fathers to become more involved with their child's birth.
Double beds could be installed in NHS maternity units as part of the plan and hospitals will be told that, at the very least, they must offer spare beds for men who want to remain close by when mother and baby need to stay, such as after a complicated birth.
Larger birthing pools could also be provided so that fathers can join mothers during water births.
The cost is likely to cause concern at a time when NHS maternity services face cutbacks across the country – while the birth rate continues to soar.
Under the proposals, hospitals will be able to bid for the money to add facilities such as double beds and larger birthing pools to their labour wards.
Health minister Dan Poulter said the scheme would help keep families together and give them more support.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario