Rowan Pelling: Mums-to-be and the midwife crisis 

(link to Independent Online article in the Commentators section)

The strain on our maternity services is robbing women of the most crucial element in childbirth

'I am horrified by the scale of the crisis in our maternity services. Choice has been rendered meaningless by midwife shortages .... There are beacons of hope, but I am convinced things will get worse before they get better. And that will be reflected not just in statistics, but in human tragedy.'