Rise in NHS birth centre closures ‘shocking’ denial of women’s rights, experts say

NHS officials are shutting growing numbers of birth centres in a “shocking” denial of a woman’s right to have a midwife rather than a doctor oversee their baby’s birth, say campaigners.

Twelve birth centres – midwife-led maternity units – have closed in England since 2019. Birth centres play a key role in ensuring that women can choose whether to have their baby at a unit in a hospital run by doctors, at one where midwives are in charge, or at home.

Six units have shut permanently since Labour came to power in July 2024. Four others have been closed “temporarily” for so long, up to six years, that childbirth groups fear they will never reopen. Two other birth centres closed because the hospitals where they were based have begun to fall apart and will remain out of action for several years until new facilities are built.

The wave of closures and suspensions is occurring because of the NHS-wide shortage of midwives, a falling birthrate, the growing complexity of childbirth and a rise in caesarean sections.

Campaigners say the loss of local childbirth services is denying women their right to choose and forcing them to travel from their home area to give birth.

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Source: The Guardian, 7 November 2026