SUPPORT for the Ludlow midwife-led maternity unit has come from the town MP Philip Dunne who is also a health minister.

But he says that pregnant women also need to demonstrate their support by using the unit.

The MP has met local campaigners for both Ludlow and Bridgnorth Midwife Led Maternity Units and has spoken to NHS leaders in Shropshire about the future of both facilities.

He says increasing the number of births at each location is important to help secure their long-term future.

Births at the Ludlow Unit have decreased from 86 in 2011/12 to 52 in 2015/16.

Antenatal appointments at Ludlow have decreased from 3,293 to 2,741. Postnatal appointments have increased from 776 to 1,111 in Ludlow.

“I commend those campaigning for greater use of the midwife-led units and share their strong desire to see these stay open for use over the long term,” Philip Dunne said.

“That said, I recognise the challenges faced, made clear from recent staffing issues and my conversations with NHS bosses. In order to be viable and to retain quality committed midwives, our midwife-led units need to have more babies born in our community hospitals each year, to improve upon the average of one or two per week.

“So I have been encouraging mums who have had babies in these units to share their positive experiences, so other families can consider this option, if they are advised it is safe for them to do so.

“In the meantime, I welcome the funding commitment from Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group, which guarantees funding for our midwife-led units for the next two years.

“This will give us the breathing space to show our commitment to these facilities, and hopefully start to see increasing births at each site.”