Written question asked by Barry Sheerman (Labour) on Monday, 19 December 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 9 January 2006. It was answered by Liam Byrne (Labour) on Monday, 16 January 2006 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Maternity Centres

Question: (2) how many midwife-led maternity centres have been in operation in each of the last 10 years;

Answer: It is for primary care trusts and national health service trusts to determine the level of midwife-led maternity care required locally. A survey of patients conducted on behalf of the Department¹ asking for a preference as to where the next delivery would take place found 20.4 per cent. wanted to give birth in a midwife-led unit.Under the maternity standard of the national service framework for children, young people and maternity services, published in September 2004, NHS maternity care providers and primary care trusts (PCTs) are required to ensure that the range of antenatal, birth and post-birth care services available locally constitutes real choice for women.Information on the number of midwife-led maternity centres that have been in operation or shut in each of the last 10 years is not collected centrally.It is for local PCTs and NHS trusts to assess the impact reconfiguring maternity services will have on mothers to be.Information on the proportion of births that took place in midwife-led maternity centres is not collected centrally."¹““Different models of maternity care: an evaluation of the roles of primary health care workers””, Hewison J, Renfrew M J, Gregson B, Young G, Braunholtz D, Dowswell T, Hirst J, Ross-McGill H. 2003"

Secondary information