Moving midwives from smaller maternity hospitals into larger hospitals is to blame for understaffed maternity units, the Royal College of Midwives has said.
The college's comments follow claims that babies are dying or sufferingbrain damage at birth through a shortage of midwives and consultants inhospital.
Research by think tank Reform found the number of hours worked bymidwives fell by 14 per cent between 1994 and 2004. The number ofmidwives working full-time has also dropped.
But Dame Karlene Davis, general secretary of the Royal College ofMidwives, said she did not believe the service was putting the lives ofwomen and their babies at risk.
- www.reform.co.uk.
