SINCE June 2014, 92 mothers gave birth before reaching hospital or at home before a midwife was present.
Campaigners say mums face giving birth in a taxi or ambulance to Chippenham free standing birthing unit or Bath RUH if proposed changes to stop women giving birth in Trowbridge and Paulton are given the green light.
Although Chippenham birthing unit is set to continue providing births for mothers, Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group say mums will be forced to travel from further afield to access the midwife led unit.
Mums say travel time is an important factor when choosing where they give birth.
Shona Hillman from Corsham said: “Luckily Gracie arrived in the early hours of the morning so we got over to Bath, but with traffic it would have been a nightmare. There are so many people to accommodate. The car parking is just so expensive too.”
Campaigner Andy Milroy added: "Centralisation of birthing centres has implications and closing local provision runs counter to current government advice. Community birthing units are cheaper, having fewer means heavily pregnant women have to travel further. Babies are not always co-operative and come when they are ready, no matter where they are."
Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group said: “We have modelled the potential impact of our proposed changes and are confident that the changes would ease pressures on maternity services as we will have the right number of staff, in the right place at the right time to support women and babies and provide high quality care.”
Under the maternity service changes proposed by Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group, Chippenham could lose five post natal beds that provide a place for women to stay after giving birth. Wiltshire CCG say the beds are empty 95 per cent of the time.
A recent questionnaire into women's experiences of births found the current support across the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust in place to be performing above national standards. The Care Quality Commission 2018 Survey of Women’s Experience of Maternity Care heard from 170 mothers who gave birth in the area, who praised the kindness and understanding of their midwives. Have your say on proposals until February 24 here: http://www.transformingmaternity.org.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here