Baby number crunch

Aairah Suleman was the first born baby at Rochdale Infirmary this year; she will be one of 34 taken care of by a Rochdale midwife this year.

New guidelines which reduce the number of babies individual midwives can safely deliver have prompted health bosses to review arrangements at Rochdale Infirmary.

Up to this week, the Royal College of Midwives recommended each midwife should deliver an average of 32 babies a year to ensure mother and child had the best quality of care.

Rochdale’s midwives already fell outside the target, by delivering an average of 34 babies a year, and now that it has been changed to an average of 27.5 babies, Rochdale has fallen further outside the comfort zone.

A spokesman for Pennine Acute Trust, which runs Rochdale Infirmary, said: “Our team of midwives are dedicated to providing the very best care for all new mothers.

“Under the previous guidelines the number of babies born at Rochdale Infirmary was slightly higher than the recommended guidelines.

“We have recently appointed a number of new midwives to further improve the levels of care we provide for new mothers.

“We welcome these new recommendations from the Royal College of Midwives to ensure safety and quality care.

“The Trust is already in the process of reviewing the structure of our team of midwives at Pennine Acute Trust and we will be taking into account this new guidance.”

The move comes as the Liberal Democrats claim midwives across England are labouring under an increased workload, with their number failing to keep pace with a rising birth rate.

They say maternity care is “in a state of near crisis” after figures released by the NHS Information Centre revealed the average number of births each midwife handles rose from 31 in 2001 to 34 in 2007 — a 10 per cent increase and the highest ratio since records began.