SAVE OUR MATERNITY UNIT: MUMS in Swindon are urging pregnant women to use Malmesbury Maternity Unit to ensure its survival.

The Kennet and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust wants to close Malmesbury Maternity Unit and transfer women to Chippenham Maternity Unit from April.

Consultation on the proposals is due to start in January. The trust says not enough women give birth at Malmesbury, along with Devizes Maternity Unit which they are also earmarking for closure, and is too costly to run.

Mums in West Swindon who have given birth at Malmesbury say the unit has not been publicised and they are urging women who are pregnant to consider giving birth there.

The only choice for women in Swindon is to go to the consultant-led Great Western Hospital or opt for a home birth.

Malmesbury and Devizes maternity units are staffed by midwives and are suitable for women who have low risk births. Women can also transfer to the units for post natal care if they give birth at another hospital.

Corinna Mazzotta, of Ramleaze, West Swindon, gave birth to her first child Benjamin 18 months ago at Malmesbury.

But she found out about it only by accident from a friend who had given birth there.

Mrs Mazzotta, 30, said: "The medical profession in Swindon don't tell women about Malmesbury Maternity Unit. When I told my midwife I wanted to book in there she said she couldn't refer me and I would need to ring them myself which I did."

Mrs Mazzotta and her husband, Anthony, 30, were invited to look round Malmesbury Maternity Unit by the midwives and they said it was the perfect setting to give birth.

Mrs Mazzotta said: "It was quite late on into my pregnancy when I transferred. I was 34 weeks, but that didn't matter.

"As a first time mum I didn't want a caesarean birth. I wanted as natural a birth as possible and Malmesbury offered that."

Travelling to Malmesbury took the Mazzottas only 20 minutes by car.

Mrs Mazzotta had a long labour of 12 and a half hours and she was able to give birth naturally and suffered no complications. She used the birthing pool and had gas and air for pain relief.

She said: "I know for a fact that if I had been at Princess Margaret Hospital in labour for that amount of time I would have been urged to have an emergency caesarean."

Mrs Mazzotta stayed at Malmesbury for post natal care.

She had problems breastfeeding her baby and it took her five days to breastfeed properly.

She said: "It wasn't until the fifth day that I was able to feed Benjamin. Had I been in PMH I would not have had the one on one care I received at Malmesbury because at PMH the midwives do not have the time.

Mrs Mazzotta was critical of the trust for not including women in Swindon in its recent maternity questionnaire. She said: "I know there are women in Swindon who don't know about Malmesbury but would like to go to a midwife led unit."

Sharon Clift, a primary school teacher who lives in Abbey Meads, Swindon, gave birth to her second child, daughter Grace, in May this year at Malmesbury.

She gave birth to her first child, William, naturally at Princess Margaret Hospital, Swindon.

Mrs Clift, 31, said: "I heard about Malmesbury Maternity Unit through the grapevine and my birth experience at PMH was not as positive as I would have liked. I also had problems breastfeeding at PMH and the midwives did not have the time to spend with me."

It took Mrs Clift and her husband, Barry, about 40 minutes to drive to Malmesbury from their home.

She stayed in for three nights postnatal care and said: "The difference in the support given by the midwives for breast feeding in particular was brilliant. They were non obtrusive and they could sit with me for as long as I needed."

Mrs Clift added: "It would be totally ridiculous for Malmesbury to close. There's plenty of women in Swindon who want the option of going to a midwife led maternity unit but they don't know about Malmesbury. They need to understand that they can go there if they have an uncomplicated pregnancy."

South Swindon MP Julia Drown has pledged to fight the merger plans for Malmesbury and Devizes.

Ms Drown is a keen supporter of midwife led maternity units and she is chairman of the all party Parliamentary Group on Maternity.

"These midwife led units are highly valued by both the staff working within them and by the people who use them. The report suggesting their closure is a report which says how great these units are and how good a reputation the service has both locally and nationally, yet they are proposed for closure. The reason for closure is cost but the costs have not been properly analysed or sensible alternatives looked at.

"I am not convinced that closing the ward at Malmesbury Hospital will release such savings to be worth taking away this real choice from Swindon women and beyond.

"It is irresponsible to go ahead with the consultation when the savings that could be made have not even been circulated. I know the Primary Care Trust is concerned about the small number of births at Malmesbury but an alternative would be to make sure all Swindon parents who could use the unit are told about it and given a proper choice."

If you would like to find out more about Malmesbury Maternity Unit phone and speak to midwife on (01666) 822657 or for Devizes Maternity Unit call (01380) 720303.