£3,000 birth budget for pregnant women

Pregnant women are to be allowed to choose where and how they give birth armed with a £3,000 budget from the NHS. The move is part of a plan to tackle poor care in England’s maternity units. Officials say it will allow a greater number of women to opt for labour at home, water births and therapies such as self-hypnosis. Charities fear mothers-to-be could be put under pressure to choose the cheapest birth, rather than the safest.

PREGNANT women will be given a £3,000 NHS budget allowing them to choose where and how they give birth, in a plan to tackle poor care in England’s maternity units.

Officials say it will give women more control over the type of birth they have, allowing a greater number to opt for labour at home, water births and therapies such as self-hypnosis.

However, charities last night expressed fear that women could be put under pressure to choose the cheapest birth, rather than the safest.

Under the plans, mothers-to-be will be told they should get one personal midwife to attend to them throughout their pregnancy, with a back-up “buddy” to take over if needed.

They will be offered an NHS Personal Maternity Care Budget, worth at least £3,000, allowing them to choose from options including birthing pools, private birthing suites and alternative pain relief such as acupuncture.

NHS bosses said the plans aimed to ensure popular services receive the most funding, driving out poor care.

Their National Maternity Review warns that just under half of units inspected by regulators have been rated as inadequate or requiring improvement for safety.

Britain’s stillbirth rates are among the worst in western Europe, with a doubling in compensation in the past decade to £1 billion last year. One in 20 births involves a mistake resulting in harm to mother or baby, rising to one in five in some units, the national maternity strategy says.

Experts said they hoped midwives would set up maternity centres offering births in more homely settings, and at home. Around half of pregnant women want to give birth in a midwife-led unit, attached to a hospital, but less than 10 per cent end up in one.

A quarter want a home birth, which just 2 per cent achieve, the report says. The review follows an inquiry into Uni-

‘It’s hugely important that women give birth in a place that feels right for them, not the least costly option’

versity Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS trust, where mothers and babies died amid warring between doctors and midwives.

Mothers-to-be will only be able to choose from providers with NHS accreditation. Simon Stevens, the NHS chief executive, said the system, to be piloted in four areas, would ensure “money follows the mum”.

Maureen Treadwell, of the Birth Trauma Association, said: “It’s hugely important that women are able to give birth in a place that feels right for them, not the least costly option.”