Campaigners say closures of NHS midwife-led birth centers in England are making childbirth care harder to reach, as a Guardian tally puts the number of units shut since 2019 at 12.
Six of the 12 have shut permanently since Labour took office in July 2024. Four others remain closed under temporary classifications, with some of those suspensions lasting as long as six years. Two more centers are expected to remain shut for several years because their hospital sites are deteriorating and replacement facilities have yet to be built.
Campaigners say women and birthing people in affected areas must travel farther to give birth. Birth centers are NHS maternity units run by midwives. The other birth settings described in the report are doctor-led hospital care and home birth, making the units a distinct option within local maternity services.
In describing the contraction, The Guardian pointed to growing complexity in maternity care and more cesarean deliveries, alongside a lower birthrate and shortages in NHS midwife staffing. The outlet linked those pressures to the closures and suspensions.
Hazel Williams, chief executive of Birthrights, said women and birthing people should have a choice of birth setting. She called those options “not luxury options or nice-to-haves.”
The Royal College of Midwives warned that limited access to NHS midwife-led services may lead some women to seek private midwifery support or give birth at home without a health professional.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), responding to The Guardian, said the NHS had a record number of midwives and had added more than 600 over the past year. Health Secretary Yvette Cooper is due to publish an action plan for maternity and neonatal care in England before Christmas, The Guardian reported.
