We need more midwives, help make it happen!

One of my friends is coming to the end of her midwifery course; she's been working hard and she will be a great midwife.

But here's the travesty ... There's absolutely no guarantee that there'll be a job for her at the end.

That's not because she won't meet the standard or is being fussy about the job, it's because there's a lot of competition for a small number of jobs. Fair enough, the same is true in most industries, but do most industries have too few employees to get the job done?

Maternity wards, ante natal and post natal clinics are all run off their feet with mothers and babies; they have no slack in the system and what they need are ... More Midwives.

There's something we can do about it though, we can join Professor Cathy Warwick's petition to recruit 5000 more midwives.

More babies were born in England in 2010 than in any year since 1972, whilst births to women aged 30 or older were at their highest since 1946. The NHS is desperately short of midwives, and the shortage affects every region of England. We need urgent action from the Government, including a target to recruit the equivalent of 5000 more full-time midwives. Care for women but especially babies at the very start of life should be shielded from the cuts.

Make a difference
Sign the petition
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/13716