MATERNITY services could reach “crisis point” in the next few years as swathes of staff retire and more women become obese, experts warn.
A new report from the Royal College of Midwives shows more than a third of British midwives are nearing retirement age.
One in five mums-to-be is significantly overweight and many women are now waiting until they are older before giving birth.
Both increase the risk of complications and require additional attention, the State of Maternity Services review says.
It calls for more student midwives to be trained and deployed in the NHS as a “matter of urgency”.
If nothing is done, new midwives will not have the “experience and confidence” they need before older members of staff retire.
Some 33 per cent of midwives in England are in their 50s or 60. The figures for Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland are slightly higher.
The RCM estimates that across England there is currently a shortage of 3,500 midwives.
It said that despite this shortage, in the 12 months to September 2016, the NHS midwifery workforce in England rose by just 104.
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Cathy Warwick, chief executive of the RCM, said: “The RCM remains most concerned that there are not enough newly qualified midwives coming in to staff an already understaffed maternity service.
“Right across the UK, we are not seeing enough midwives being taken on.
“Older midwives will be lost to retirement soon and with this we lose their experience and their ability to train and guide younger midwives.
“This situation cannot be ignored any longer, if we wait, there will not be enough time for us to train new midwives and get them into the service.”
Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary Norman Lamb said: “The Government is sleepwalking into a maternity care crisis that is putting the safety of new mothers and babies at risk.
“Despite repeated warnings, ministers have failed to address staff shortages at a time when midwives are already overworked and demoralised.
“Now we are reaching a point where there are not enough midwives to guarantee that new mothers and babies get the care they need. This situation cannot be allowed to continue.”
Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, said: “In 2010 the Tories pledged an extra 3,000 midwives but they have broken their promise.
“The Government’s inept approach to NHS workforce planning is failing families.”
Professor Neena Modi, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: “Investment in midwives, doctors and health visitors is urgently needed if women and their families are to get the care they need.”
Health minister Philip Dunne said: “Patients should be reassured that we are actively ensuring we continue to have enough midwives in the NHS.”
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