Midwives, nurses and doctors in maternity and birthing units are “standing ready”, as the country sees the annual peak in births today.
Thanks to a spike in conceptions over the Christmas holidays, around 2,000 babies are born on 26 September in England and Wales – more than any other day of the year – according to the Office for National Statistics.
This is more than 10% higher than the average of 1,800 a day – more than one every minute – with more than 600,000 births across the country annually.
Jacqueline Dunkley Bent, chief midwifery officer for England said: “As a midwife and nurse I know that even in the busiest periods, NHS staff are always standing ready to go above and beyond for new and expectant mums.
“Women who are pregnant or in labour, and their partners, rightly want more say over their care and more information about how things are going during pregnancy, and that’s what we are delivering through the NHS Long Term Plan.”
As part of these measures, more women will have a dedicated midwife throughout pregnancy, while an extra £40m will be used by local areas to support action to reduce the rates of stillbirth, neonatal death, maternal death and brain injury during birth by 20%.