Twelve midwife-led birth centres have closed in England since 2019, with six of them closing since Labour came to power in 2024, according to campaigners who say the losses are denying women their right to choose where they give birth.

Hazel Williams, the chief executive of Birthrights, said women and birthing people had seen "shocking restrictions" on their choice of place of birth in recent years, with more birth centres closing and the option of an NHS-supported home birth "vastly reduced for many".

The maternity unit at North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple has been closed for months, including its home birth service, because of a lack of staff.

Norfolk units under review

The pressure is not limited to units that have already closed. In Norfolk, the Royal College of Midwives has warned over reports that two maternity units could close, leaving the unit at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital as the only one in the county. The Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group has set out a "Case for Change" on how services could be delivered in future, but stressed that no decisions had been made and no consultation had begun.

Options include closing consultant-led maternity units at the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, or both. The union warned that closing units serving rural communities could mean women travelling "unacceptable distances" while in labour.

A senior NHS leader warned in October that up to 20 of England's 155 consultant-led maternity units may need to close or change their role to keep mothers and babies safe, citing shortages of specialist doctors and rising caesarean rates.