Reopening Home births and Cheltenham Birth Centre: FAQs

When will home birth services restart?

Home birth services across Gloucestershire will restart on 4 January 2027.

Each phase will proceed only when we are confident that women, babies and families can receive safe, high-quality care, supported by the right staff, training, facilities and governance arrangements.

From December 2026, women will be able to discuss with their midwife plans for a home birth on or after 4 January 2027, where appropriate.

When will Cheltenham Birth Centre reopen?

Cheltenham Birth Centre will reopen on 1 February 2027.

Each phase will proceed only when we are confident that women, babies and families can receive safe, high-quality care, supported by the right staff, training, facilities and governance arrangements.

What is the Community Birth Team?

The Community Birth Team is a dedicated countywide team that will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It will provide antenatal and postnatal care to women alongside traditional community midwives and

It will support women choosing to give birth:

• at home;
• at Stroud Maternity Centre Hospital; or
• at Cheltenham Birth Centre.

The Community Birth Team will work flexibly across community birth settings, responding to women's individual needs and preferences about where they receive labour and birth care. Care will be planned with each woman, taking account of her preferences, clinical needs and the support required for safe care.

How does the Community Birth Team work?

If you already know you would like to give birth at one of our midwifery-led units or have a homebirth you may be allocated to a community midwife who is part of the community birth team, so that they may be available to support your labour and birth.

If your plans changed, or there were reasons why home or community birth was not recommended, you could remain with your allocated midwife who would continue to provide care.  Women who are planning to birth in Gloucester or are under the care of the medical team would usually be allocated to a community midwife who is not in the community birth team.

Why was the home birth service suspended?

The service was suspended in October 2025 after midwives raised concerns about the safety and sustainability of the previous on-call arrangements.

Workforce pressures and difficulties filling shifts meant the service was sometimes withdrawn at short notice. This created uncertainty for women and families and meant home birth could not always be offered reliably.

Why has it taken until January 2027 to restore home births?

The Trust previously intended to restore the service by the end of autumn 2026 and recognises that the confirmed date is later than planned.

Offers have been made to external midwives to join the Community Birth Team, and recruitment and onboarding are progressing. The additional time is being used to bring the team together, complete the necessary training, establish safe staffing rotas taking account of annual leave already booked over Christmas and New Year, safely transfer existing caseloads and complete the remaining estates preparations at Cheltenham Birth Centre.

We would have liked to restore the service sooner, but it is important that the workforce, training and operational arrangements are in place before it reopens. Each phase remains subject to the Trust confirming readiness.

Does Stroud Maternity Centre remain an option for birth?

Yes. Women will continue to be able to choose Stroud Maternity Centre as their place of birth.

The Community Birth Team will work flexibly across community birth settings, responding to women's individual needs and preferences about where they receive labour and birth care. Care will be planned with each woman, taking account of her preferences, clinical needs and the support required for safe care.

Community maternity services will continue to be provided from Stroud.

Why is Cheltenham Birth Centre reopening a month later than home births?

Home births and the new Community Birth Team arrangements at Stroud are planned to begin on 4 January 2027. During January, further members of the team are expected to come into post including midwives to joining the Community Birth Team from outside the Trust, and recruitment and onboarding are progressing. The additional time is being used to

• bring the team together
• complete the necessary training
• establish safe staffing rotas taking account of annual leave already booked over Christmas and New Year
• safely transfer existing caseloads
• complete the remaining estates preparations at Cheltenham Birth Centre.

How do I request a home birth?

From December 2026, women will be able to discuss with their midwife plans for a home birth on or after 4 January 2027, where appropriate.

What happens if my baby is due close to 4 January?

From December 2026, women will be able to discuss with their midwife plans for a home birth on or after 4 January 2027, where appropriate. The planned restart date remains 4 January 2027 and is subject to the Trust confirming readiness.

How will the Trust know whether the new service is working?

The Trust will monitor staffing, activity, safety, outcomes and the experiences of women and families as the new model becomes established.

The Trust will also continue listening to staff, stakeholders and people using maternity services throughout implementation.

How many midwives and staff will be in the new Community Birth Team compared with the current service?

There is currently no dedicated Community Birth Team. Women planning a home birth or birth in a community setting are supported through the wider community midwifery workforce, with community midwives providing care alongside their broader caseload responsibilities.

The new model establishes a dedicated Community Birth Team whose primary role is to provide community birth care across Gloucestershire. This will create a sustainable workforce with regular exposure to intrapartum care, helping to maintain skills, confidence and competence whilst providing more reliable access to community birth services for women and families.

How does the model support continuity of care?

The new Community Birth Team has been designed to strengthen both continuity and safety for women choosing community birth. Women who plan a community birth from early pregnancy will have the opportunity to build relationships with the dedicated team throughout their care pathway.

Women who decide later in pregnancy that they would like a community birth can choose to transfer their care to the team or remain under the care of their existing community midwife, with the Community Birth Team supporting labour and birth. This approach combines relational continuity with access to a team of midwives who regularly provide community birth care and maintain the skills required to do so safely.

The development of a dedicated Community Birth Team is intended to provide a safe, sustainable and equitable community birth service across Gloucestershire. The model brings together midwives with specialist community birth skills, improves resilience, supports maintenance of clinical competence and enables women who choose community birth to receive care from a team focused specifically on meeting their needs, whilst retaining choice and flexibility throughout pregnancy.