Mothers-to-be need more support from midwives, it has been claimed, with the suggestion that there are not enough in the profession.
Research published in the British Medical Journal recently outlined some more health risks surrounding infants born outside of the normal working week, suggesting the shortage of midwives may be a factor.
Sarah Montagu, admin secretary at the Association of Radical Midwives, explained some of her organisation's ambitions surrounding he issue of staffing levels.
"One of the things that the Association of Radical Midwives is campaigning for is more one-to-one care for women, and that's what women should be having - one midwife to one woman so we don't have people who are rushing in and out of rooms looking after three women at once," she said.
"Ideally that should be the level of care that all the separate units are aiming at."
According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, there were 790,200 live births in 2009, down from 794,400 in 2008.
