Watchdog says NHS maternity services overstretched

Maternity units are having to shut temporarily or turn away expectant mothers because NHS childbirth services have too few midwives and are struggling to cope with the ongoing baby boom, according to a hard-hitting official report. Parts of the maternity service in England are becoming overstretched at times because it is short of 2,300 midwives and births are at their highest level for 40 years, according to the National Audit Office, the government’s spending watchdog. Between April and September 2012 a total of 28% of maternity units closed for 12 hours or more, including eight that shut for a total