NHS ‘needs to do more’ to help mothers

Amidst reports that there is a shortage of midwives to accommodate mothers that want to breastfeed their children, it has been claimed that the NHS needs to do more by way of providing midwives to support new mothers.

The National Childbirth Trust has said there exists a “worrying” shortage of midwives and expressed a desire for more home births in the UK and increased support for mothers looking to breastfeed.

A spokesperson said: “The NCT runs a successful breastfeeding helpline, and provides counsellors for mums. We feel that the Department of Health and the NHS need to do more.”

The Royal College of Midwives echoed the calls for an increased supply of midwives to mothers in order to provide support for those choosing to breastfeed, adding that mothers needed both assistance with physical skills and emotional encouragement.

Sue McDonald, speaking on behalf of the organisation, stated that some student midwives were not getting employment as a result of financial cuts in the NHS, while she recommended that the UK required an additional 10,000 midwives to provide care.

She added that midwives are capable of providing community-based care as an alternative to the potential anonymity mothers may feel in a hospital.