“It is in the hands of the government to do something about this gathering storm, but it needs doing now.”

A report from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) presented last week shows the forces driving up demand and increasing pressure on England’s maternity services.

The report, ‘The gathering storm: England’s midwifery workforce challenges’, outlines how issues such as rising levels of complexity in pregnancy, midwife shortages and financial constraints in the NHS are ramping up the pressure on England’s maternity workforce and services.