Walsall home birthing service paused to protect staff

Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs, Walsall Manor Hospital, said it needed to "ensure the safety and stability of maternity services"

Bosses said eligible women will still be offered the opportunity to give birth at the Midwifery-Led Unit throughout this period and arrangements will be regularly reviewed.

They said the change would mean midwives are available to support maternity services "at a time when the challenges created as a result of the pandemic need to be carefully managed to ensure women and families are supported".

It comes as hundreds of thousands of people are being alerted by the NHS app every week and told to isolate in what is being dubbed the 'pingdemic'.

Carla Jones-Charles, divisional director of midwifery, gynaecology and sexual health for Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “We want to ensure we can support the women and families of Walsall and to offer greater options for birth as detailed in the Better Births recommendations, supporting our women to have the birth of their choosing.

“We do have to respond to the ever-changing demands created as a result of the ongoing pandemic, however, and do everything we can to protect maternity services and our service users. We need to ensure midwives are able to assist our teams.

“We urge anyone who feels that they may be affected by these new arrangements, which will be in place from 2nd August to please speak to their community midwife or to contact our Midwifery-Led Unit as that may well be an appropriate environment for those wishing for an alternative to a hospital birth.”