Nursery World - How 'A Better Start' areas support families and babies against backdrop of shortages to midwives and health visitors

A new report on maternity and antenatal support by the National Lottery Community Fund and the National Children’s Bureau highlights the challenges faced by the midwifery and health visiting workforce, and highlights partnership working in the five 'A Better Start' areas of England.

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Safe staffing levels are essential to the provision of safe and effective maternity care and wider antenatal support. However, recent data shows significant shortfalls in staffing for both midwives and health visitors – both key groups in supporting families during pregnancy, it says.

The report finds:

A 2023 report by the Royal College of Midwives estimates that there is now a shortfall of 2,500 midwives in England, with the workforce increasingly stretched to deliver the high level of support delivered to individuals. Meanwhile, data on health visitors from 2022 shows a ‘record low’ of 7,300 full-time equivalent health visitors, with the workforce having decreased by 37 per cent since 2015.

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