Temporary suspension of our Home Birth Service

Senior midwifery and obstetric clinicians and the executive team at Northampton General Hospital (NGH) have today made the decision to temporarily halt the home birth service from Friday 1st April. This difficult but necessary decision has been made to ensure that safe staffing levels continue to be maintained within the maternity unit.

We are experiencing some staff shortages in the maternity department. The shortages are a result of staff sickness, covid isolation and vacancies, which means we are unable to currently operate the home birth service. These challenges are not unique to NGH, as many maternity units across the country are experiencing similar pressures.

We understand that this may be disappointing for those women who were planning on having a home delivery over the next few months, but safety is our priority and we are committed to providing a safe service and birth experience for all women.

All women who have been booked in for a home birth over the next two months have been contacted by our Home Birth Team Leader and have been offered an appointment with a midwifery matron and the option of delivering their baby in our midwifery led birth centre. We will continue to support these women throughout their pregnancies and again we are truly sorry for the disappointment this decision will have caused.

We will reopen our Home Birth Service as soon as we are able. We’d like to thank everyone for their understanding and support, especially our Maternity Voice Partnership (MVP).