Friday, 1 July 2011
Commenting on the UK birthrates statistics published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics, Louise Silverton, Deputy General Secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, said: “We have been hearing anecdotally from midwives for some time that they are seeing a rise in births and these provisional figures add weight to their comments.
“It is not just about the number of births, it is also about the number of potential births because of the general population increase. We should be planning to meet the rising demand on our maternity services and resource them effectively – and this means more midwives. Even without a rise in births the RCM estimates we are 4,500 midwives short in England.”
For more information contact the RCM Press Office on 020 7312 3456
Notes to editors
The Royal College of Midwives is the voice of midwifery. We are the UK’s only trade union and professional organisation led by midwives for midwives. The vast majority of the midwifery profession are our members. The RCM promotes midwifery, quality maternity services and professional standards. We support and represent our members individually and collectively in all four UK countries. We influence on behalf of our members and for the interests of the women and families for which they care. For more information visit the RCM website at www.rcm.org.uk.
