More Midwives Needed As Mums Get Older

Scotland urgently needs more midwives, to deal with more babies being born to older mothers.

According to a report by the Royal College of Midwives, more than 200 mums over the age of 40 are giving birth every year, needing more specialist care.

The union is calling on the Scottish Government to fund more places, as there are too many graduates and not enough jobs.

They are also concerned about an aging workforce - nearly half of all midwifes are over the age of 50.

RCM chief executive Cathy Warwick said: "All women deserve the very best care, regardless of the age at which they give birth. 

"Women have every right to give birth later in life, and we support that. But typically older women will require more care during pregnancy, and that means more midwives are needed.”

"It is deeply frustrating for midwives that they cannot provide the quality of maternity care that they want to deliver because they are so short-staffed. It would be far better if midwives could spend more time helping pregnant women to quit smoking and helping new mums to breastfeed, if they choose to do so. 

"Too few midwives also means less time with women, with rushed midwives potentially missing signs of postnatal depression, for example".