Midwifery in numbers
- The average number of births per midwife has worsened recently and RCM estimate the UK is short of 5,150 full-time equivalent midwives
- More than a quarter of UK heads of midwifery told RCM that their budget has been cut in the last 12 months
- In a poll of 2,000 midwives, 89% said they did not feel able to give women all the care and support they need
- Newly-qualified midwives are struggling to find jobs and a third of new midwives are unemployed
- Of these, almost a half (47%) have been looking for a job for more than three months
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