NOT enough mums want to have their babies in Trowbridge, meaning that births could no longer be offered at the town's maternity unit from some time in 2019, NHS Wiltshire announced today.

The Clinical Commissioning Group which runs maternity services across the county and beyond has released details of its new Transforming Maternity strategy - and just as local people feared when consultation meetings were held last year, there is no leading place in it for the county town's award-winning birthing centre.

The CCG says it has to respond to changes in patterns of where people choose to have their babies, to make sure they are providing staff in the right places, and that 85% of mums now give birth at larger Obstetric Units, at Princess Anne Wing at Bath RUH, the Great Western Hospital in Swindon or Salisbury District Hospital.

A consultation on the new strategy goes live online at midnight tonight, with people able to make comments on its suggestions.

The plans include keeping only two, rather than four, of the current Freestanding Midwifery Units open for mums to give birth - at Chippenham and Frome.

Trowbridge and Paulton's units will then only run antenatal and postnatal clinics. Post-natal beds in Chippenham would also close, with mums needing care after birth transferred to Swindon or Bath. The CCG said: "A detailed travel impact analysis was undertaken to inform our proposal."

The plan also includes opening two new Alongside midwifery Units, one at Salisbury and one in Bath, offering midwife-led births like those already available at the White Horse Birth Centre at the GWH in Swindon.

These would cater for low risk mums who at the moment are choosing to go to Obstetric units because they are worried about being moved during or after labour if they need a doctor's care.

The CCG also wants to improve the range of antenatal and postnatal services, for example by providing more breastfeeding support to women in their own homes, and to support more women to give birth at home if they choose.

It says the strategy is not a cost-cutting exercise, and that no staff will lose their jobs as a result of the changes if they go ahead.

Mums in west Wiltshire spoke out in 2017 about their fears for the unit, when a series of meetings were held where parents were asked to give their views on maternity services.

Today Lucy Baker, Acting Director for Maternity Services at Wiltshire CCG and Lead Director for the project said: “Our proposal is the result of feedback gained from listening to over 2,000 women and families, staff, midwives, obstetricians and others with an interest in maternity services to look at ways we can improve the services we provide to mothers and families across the region. To do that, we need to make some changes to how we currently do things.

“Our proposal would allow us to provide more choice for more women across our area about where and how they are supported before, during and after the birth of their baby, and allows us to make more efficient use of our resources and workforce so we can further improve our antenatal and post-natal and birthing services. We also want to ensure we are delivering the services that can meet the changing needs of our local women and families both now and in the future.

“Despite the financial pressures facing the NHS locally and nationally, we are not planning to reduce how much we spend on maternity services, nor are we proposing to reduce the amount of staff we have or to close any buildings.”

The CCG says the proposal addresses the issues posed by changes to the population. The average age of a woman giving birth in the UK is now 35. More and more women are experiencing high risk pregnancies (for example, because of high blood pressure, obesity or diabetes) which means they need to be supported in a hospital setting with an expert medical team available. The combination of these factors means there is vastly increased pressure on services at the Obstetric Units in Bath, Swindon and Salisbury.

Lucy Baker said: “Our proposal is just that – a proposal. It addresses what women and staff have told us they think will work, but we want to hear people’s views and encourage them to have their say.

“The consultation will run until February 24 2019, to enable plenty of time for people to give their views.

“We will make the consultation results available to the public and explain how their feedback has helped shape our plans. We are aiming to make our final decision in Spring 2019.”

To see the full details of the plans and changes and have your say, go to www.transformingmaternity.org.uk - the consultation goes live at midnight tonight