A FORMER long-serving midwife this week stepped into the battle to save the town's maternity unit from possible closure.

Molly Macaulay, who was a midwife in Romsey for 19 years and still lives in the town, is president of the New Forest branch of the Royal College of Midwives.

And after expressing the fear that mothers are being denied the control they should have over their childbirth experience.

Citing the Three Cs - control, choice and continuity - as key issues in the latest threat to birthing centres in South-West Hampshire, with Romsey, Hythe and Lymington all under consideration for possible closure, she said: "The year 1993 saw the most radical recommendation for the development of woman-centred services and care, namely changing childbirth.

"This government document enables women to redeem control, choice and continuity over their childbirth experience."

But she suggested that the control would be taken over by the NHS Trust, the choice would be decreased as local birthing centres closed and that continuity would be the only element left as the New Forest and Romsey midwives and maternity care assistants would maintain their renowned first class standard of care at any location.

"I am," she said, "asking the people of Romsey, Lymington and Hythe to express their support for the local maternity services.

"I am concerned there will be other closures of our local health services. Meetings are to be arranged so you will have the opportunity to voice your opinion.

"You can write to your local MP, local councillors and the chief executive at Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust."

The decision to carry out the review of services which could mean closure has also sparked concerns from the National Childbirth Trust.

It warned: "If the birth centres were to be closed, the whole package of care would be undermined. There is no estimate of how many women or midwives from Romsey, Hythe or Lymington the PCT anticipate would make the journey to a relocated birth centre at Ashurst.

"It seems unlikely, certainly in the short term, that many women currently using Romsey, Hythe or Lymington would find a journey to Ashurst acceptable.

"Thus, their options and choices would be reduced, which flies in the face of the Government's manifesto commitment that "By 2009, all women will have choice over where and how they have their baby and what pain relief to use."

Meanwhile, the review and the possible birthing centre closures were discussed at a meeting of the Trust Boards of the Eastleigh and Test Valley South and New Forest PCTs at Colbury last Thursday. Afterwards, they released a statement which stressed the importance of listening to public opinion.

It said: "Both boards agreed that further work was needed in order to gauge public opinion and hear what users of the services have to say in terms of potential for change and concerns that any change leaves them with. This information would then form a major part of any consultation document."

It added that there would be full consultation with health professionals: "Karen Baker, Southampton University Hospitals Trust's divisional director of operations for women and children's services, supported by South-West Hampshire PCTs' colleagues, will take forward an exercise of hearing what local doctors, midwives, consultants, patients, relatives and our other partners have to say."