Expectant mothers in Maldon have been told to give birth at Broomfield Hospital or opt for a home birth, as the birthing unit at St Peter's Hospital is now closed 'until further notice'.

The Mid and South Essex NHS Trust announced the temporary closure yesterday (August 15), which is due to 'staffing levels' at the unit. It will not be providing specialist post-natal care during this time but will continue to offer a Home Birth Service.

Kirstie Broughton, Chair of the Mid & South Essex Maternity & Neonatal Voices Partnership said: "As a team of local people that work together with the hospital and others to review and contribute to the development of local maternity care, the safety of the women, birthing people and babies using the maternity services is our absolute priority. 

"We therefore support the decision to close the birth centres temporarily.

"Choosing where to give birth is a big decision and we would like to reassure all families that were planning on going to St Peter's that they will still have the option to birth at the midwifery-led unit at Broomfield Hospital or could opt for a home birth. 

"We would advise anyone who wants to discuss the various birthing option available to them to speak to their midwife in the first instance."

Labour and birth activity at the midwifery-led birthing unit have been temporarily suspended. (Photo: Ben Shahrabi)

On Facebook yesterday (August 15), one user commented that staff were not aware of the closure until it was announced to the public.

In a statement, the Trust said it would review the closure "every two weeks".

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It said: "We have a recruitment campaign underway to attract more midwives to the Trust, but in the short term we will need to make sure that our staffing is concentrated in the right areas.

"For that reason, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend our labour and birth activity at the midwifery-led birthing unit at St Peter's Hospital in Maldon.

"While women and birthing people will not be able to labour and give birth at St Peter's from Monday 15 August 2022, we will continue to provide antenatal and postnatal outpatient clinics and offering antenatal triage between 9am and 3.30pm for low-risk pregnancies.

"We are committed to re-opening St Peter's birthing unit as soon as it is safe to do so and will review this temporary closure every two weeks.

"We will provide further communication to families to inform them of any updates."

If you are an expecting mother or have used the hospital's birthing unit in the past and would like to share your experiences, get in touch.