TWO Christmas babies were born in the Trowbridge and Chippenham free standing midwifery units on December 25, including a baby girl called Grace, born in Trowbridge just after midnight.

A consultation into maternity services could see Trowbridge unit stop delivering babies and Chippenham lose its post natal beds, where new mums come to recover from birth.

Bath and Swindon hospitals could get new alongside birthing units as the CCG say expectant mothers want to be closer to hospital care.

One campaigner claims the consultation has increased a fear among mums about being transferred during labour. Wiltshire CCG say that more mums are having high risk pregnancies, and a genuine concern is increasingly expressed by mums about being transferred during labour. Last year 50 per cent of the 147 births in Trowbridge resulted in mums being taken to hospital by ambulance during labour.

Andy Milroy, of Bellevue Crescent, said: "The consultation undermines the choice of expectant mothers to give birth locally, close to their family in a birthing unit. Wiltshire CCG are pushing a one size fits all, restricting local choice for expectant mothers, ignoring NHS advice that low risk pregnancies do not need medical backup. “The consultation does not provide the detailed information necessary to enable expectant mothers to make an informed choice between an obstetric unit, a midwife unit in a hospital, a midwife unit in the community, or a home birth.” Lucy Baker, of Wiltshire CCG, said: “This isn’t about saving money as an resources released will go straight back into midwifery to create continuity of care. We want to use our workforce differently to have a more continuous care to build those relationships.” 609 responses to the consultation have been made, with 21 responses from the Trowbridge area and 11 from Chippenham. The consultation closes on February 24. Visit: http://www.transformingmaternity.org.uk/