"Maternity Services Not Adequate for Growing City," Says Leading Lib Dem

10.25.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 18th Sep 2007

The Government has been warned of an impending crisis in maternity services unless thousands of new midwives can be recruited.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said it had upwardly revised its assessment of the number of new midwives needed by 2012 from 3,000 to 5,000 in the light of higher birth-rate figures. The RCM claimed recruitment was not keeping pace with a rising birth rate.

Jill Hope, Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for Milton Keynes North - and mother of four - is worried about the implications for Milton Keynes, a growing City with a young population.

"I have studied the 2006 Public Health Annual Report for Milton Keynes, and the report on maternity services was worrying. The reported stillbirth rate in Milton Keynes was significantly higher than average in 2005. Has that situation corrected itself in 2006 and 2007? I cannot begin to imagine the pain of a woman bringing a baby to full term, and then giving birth to a stillborn child. Why were the figures so high in 2005 and what changes have been made?

"Since reading this disturbing report I have talked to a number of new mothers in Milton Keynes. Most of them were very complimentary about the service they received from the maternity unit at Milton Keynes Hospital, and I pay tribute to the staff for their hard work. But one worrying trend emerged. Half of the women I talked to said that they didn't get enough help and support to enable them to establish breastfeeding satisfactorily during their time at the hospital. Although breastfeeding is a natural activity, it takes a certain knack, and women often need help to relax and settle down with their baby, so that breastfeeding is well established before they are discharged. Without wishing to criticise the midwives, they are clearly too busy to offer this support and advice.

"We all know that 'breast is best' for babies. If young mums in Milton Keynes are not being given the help and support they need to be able to breastfeed successfully for at least the first couple of months, then babies will lose out on important antibodies that they would otherwise get through the breast milk.

"As Milton Keynes grows, maternity services must grow too. We must ensure that new mums in Milton Keynes are offered the high level of support they need in the early days."