Guide to birth place options across Gloucestershire. You have the right to choose.
It would seem that currently women are mainly being funnelled into Gloucester Delivery Suite to give birth by the midwives and consultants they are seeing antenatally. ‘Oh well it’s just easier in case anything goes wrong’ appears to be the main argument. However we know that merely being in that setting leads to increased interventions and likelihood of a caesarean section even in straight forward low risk pregnancies and labours. The purpose of this blog is to make you aware of your choices and what each of the setting available in Gloucestershire look like. It is written from my own experience in each setting, drawing in CQC reports and women’s voices.
Homebirth
Sadly the homebirth service in Gloucestershire is currently suspended and has been for nearly a year. But that does not mean you can’t give birth at home. Some women are opting to Freebirth, which means birthing without a medical professional present, this could be with or without a Doula. There are of course pros and cons to this, I have been lucky enough to support freebirth and to watch a woman go through a completely undisturbed labour is a beautiful experience and immensely empowering for her. Of course if the baby or woman does need some medical support a Doula is not able to provide that and an ambulance would be needed. I usually tell couples who are planning a freebirth that the birth partner should attend a paediatric first aid course in advance of the birth just in case.
There is also the option to hire an independent midwife, this can be quite costly but well worth it to get the birth you want. Depending on the insurance package they have chosen they may be able to attend alone, or may need a second, this could be another midwife or birth-worker also under their insurance package. They are still bound by the NMC code of practice but not NHS policies. If this is something you would like to explore I can make some recommendations.
UPDATE: Home birth services are set to resume Jan 4th as part of the community birth team see note at the bottom of the page.
Stroud Maternity Unit
SMU is a standalone midwife led unit. It is still currently open 24/7 to birth but is part of the community birth redesign which will lead to it becoming a pop up birth centre - only opened to birth as and when needed. There is no date for this yet. It is designed for straight forward, low risk pregnancies. But even if you do not fall into this category you are within your right to seek an appointment with the birth choices midwife to put forward your case as to why you want to birth there. As a Doula (and a mother) I have seen and heard nothing but good about the care there. The midwives are supportive of women’s choice and physiological birth. The rooms have birthing pools, pretty lights and foam mats and blocks for comfort. Sadly since the postnatal beds were closed 4 years ago the number of births the unit has seen has dropped. However in reality women are not turfed out on the street, you will be able to stay in the birth room until you are ready to go home. A well supported physiological birth will generally mean that breastfeeding is easier to establish, recovery is quicker and women feel more empowered, meaning they feel better equipped to return home in a shorter time frame.
The latest CQC report rates SMU as good in every category and women describe amazing care, feeling supported and their birth plans followed.
UPDATE: From the 4th Jan stroud will only be available as a pop up birth space, women will have to call the community birth team (see below) and request stroud. They will then have to wait for two midwives to arrive and open it up.
Gloucester Birth Unit
This is an alongside midwife led unit attached to Gloucester Royal. It is billed as being no different to SMU but this is not the case, the rooms still have pools and lights but there is a hospital bed in place of the foam blocks, a floor mat needs to be requested as there aren’t enough for each room. Whilst I have witnessed physiological labour here the golden hour was treated like a medical emergency and needed a lot of skill to calm it down so the woman felt heard, was able to provide informed consent and wasn’t pressured into unwanted and unnecessary interventions. Other births here have been escalated to medics fairly quickly where the birth plan has then been derailed with a cascade of interventions. The close proximity of medics mean the midwives are quicker to defer. Individually the midwives are lovely but the medical culture permeates in a way that doesn’t happen at SMU.
The unit is sometimes closed to staff the delivery suite. Many of the rooms have been turned into offices showing the ethos of midwife led care is not strong in Gloucester. The Maternity survey scores it as 9/10 on the human interaction side during labour but anecdotally the postnatal care is poor.
Aveta Birth Centre (Cheltenham)
This is still temporarily closed over 4 years ago but is planned to be a part of the community birth team, meaning like stroud it will act as a pop up should women request it whilst they are in labour. As far as we are currently aware the rooms are not fit for purpose, also having been turned into offices or meeting rooms.
UPDATE: Aveta has been given an opening date of 1st Feb.
Gloucestershire Royal Delivery Suite
This is where most women are ending up and I have not yet personally seen it support undisturbed physiological childbirth. The likelihood of a cascade of interventions is far greater just by being in a consultant led environment. The individual midwives are mainly lovely but many just don’t seem to have the experience to support women outside of a highly medicalised system. In August 2026 47% of babies were born by caesarean section almost half of which were unplanned. 38% of women were induced and 11% were instrument assisted. 86% of all babies counted were born on the delivery suite. This may account for tales of waiting for hours in triage, very little midwife contact during waits, poor communication, delays for pain relief, planned induction being delayed (sometimes by up to 5 days), poor postnatal care and variable reports around breastfeeding and emotional support. Women’s accounts say that care in labour is good but the surrounding support is lacking.
Community Birth Team
The community birth team is due to start operating on the 4th of Jan 27 - We are hearing that it has not been fully recruited to, our understanding is that they currently only have enough staff for one set of midwives to be on call, this essentially means that if there is already a birth happening at home or at either Stroud or Cheltenham then you would have to go to Gloucester. The model was supposed to have three midwives plus the ability to pull someone from Gloucester birth unit essentially allowing for two community births at a time. However as Gloucester birth unit is often closed to allow staff to go over to delivery suite we don’t yet know if this model will work.
Doula Support Across Gloucestershire
Doula support across Gloucestershire
Wherever you choose to birth, I offer compassionate, continuous, individualised doula support. I can support you during pregnancy, help you explore your birth options and make informed decisions, prepare for your chosen birth environment, and provide emotional and practical support throughout labour and birth. I can also support you and your family in the early postnatal days, helping you feel heard, nurtured and confident as you welcome your baby. Research supports the value of continuous birth support: a Cochrane review of 26 trials involving over 15,000 women found that those receiving continuous support were more likely to have a spontaneous vaginal birth (8% higher), less likely to have a caesarean birth (25% lower), and less likely to report a negative birth experience (31% lower). While every birth is unique, having a dedicated person by your side can make a meaningful difference to how supported and empowered you feel. If you'd like to explore how doula support could work for you, please get in touch to arrange a relaxed, no-obligation conversation. We can talk through your hopes, questions and the kind of support that feels right for you.
