It has been lodged on the government’s e-petition website by RCM general secretary Cathy Warwick and calls for ‘urgent action’ from the Department of Health.
It has been signed by more than 2100 people and was today (26 August) the 37th most popular petition out of 5,738.
This means it has garnered more supported than 99% of the petitions on the site.
Stuart Bonar, RCM public affairs officer, said: ‘The petition has really got off to a roaring start. There’s been a lot of progress and we need to keep up the momentum.
‘I’d ask people to please let their friends and family know about it and to share the link if they are on social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter.’
The petition states that more babies were born in England in 2010 than in any year since 1972, whilst births to women aged 30 or older were at their highest since 1946.
It continues: ‘The NHS is desperately short of midwives, and the shortage affects every region of England.
‘We need urgent action from the government, including a target to recruit the equivalent of 5000 more full-time midwives.
‘Care for women but especially babies at the very start of life should be shielded from the cuts.’
The petition is open until 22 August 2012 and can be signed
here.
