Midwife recruiting drive after baby boom in Lothians

Published on Thursday 19 March 2009 09:22

A RECRUITMENT drive for midwives is under way after a Lothian baby boom put a strain on services.

Latest figures show that the ratio of births to midwives in the Lothians is now the highest in the country, as the number of babies born has risen by 11 per cent.

While the statistics are within Royal College of Midwives (RCM) guidelines – just – the maternity service within NHS Lothian is to expand to cope with the pressure.

Following a question during a session at the Scottish Parliament, public health minister Shona Robison revealed that in 2007 – the most recent figures available – there were almost 9000 births and 302 full-time equivalent midwives.

In the Lothians that means 29.7 births for every midwife – by far the highest in the country, with the next being NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde with 22.5. The national average is 19.8.

Maria Wilson, NHS Lothian's chief midwife, said that figures were improving now and the extension of services would have a positive impact.

"The birth rate in Lothian has increased by 11 per cent over the past four years and we expect it to continue rising," she said.

"This has brought increased pressure and that's why we have plans to expand maternity services and we have already recruited additional midwifery staff.

"This includes the creation of a new midwife-led birthing centre at the ERI and the upgrading of maternity at St John's Hospital."

The health board has also pointed out that current indications show the ratio to be 1:28, while the RCM recommends at the most a ratio of one midwife to 29 births.

Health chiefs were also keen to point out that other health boards operated in slightly different ways, with some including midwives who work in neonatal units, obstetrics theatres and early pregnancy care clinics in their data.

In the Lothian region many of these tasks are undertaken by nurses, the health board said, who would not be included in the figures.

The baby boom in the Lothians has been well documented in recent months, with NHS Lothian unveiling a new maternity strategy to deal with it.

2007's birth figures were the highest since 1999 and that trend looks set to continue.

An influx of eastern European migrant workers was partly credited with the rise, but more people from within the UK are also choosing to settle in and around Edinburgh to have a family.

Women over the age of 35 are becoming more likely to have babies, although that is balanced slightly by an overall drop in teenage pregnancies.

One of the reasons it was decided to build a new, larger Sick Kids hospital at Little France was the projected rise in the number of young people in the Capital.