The NHS Alliance says maternity care needs to be consolidated. There are particular pressures on small units in rural and coastal areas. Some smaller units struggle to maintain safe staffing numbers.
The director of the acute and ambulance network says maternity services are a priority. He says politicians must have the courage to make case for patient safety. One in four births in england is now emergency caesaren, report finds.
Campaigners say delay in the birth of their second son is "disappointing" campaigners warn reductions would undermine quality of care. Baroness Valerie Amos review found women and babies weren't being "listened to," heard or believed.
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