The post you are reporting:
Some NHS departments are struggling to cope with the baby boom
THE biggest baby boom in 40 years has left maternity departments and midwives struggling to cope, nursing leaders warned yesterday.
More than 700,000 babies are expected to be born in England alone this year, according to the Royal College of Midwives - the highes number since 1971.
Just between January and March, there were 170,900 births in England - 4,600 more than the same period last year.
The RCM said the increase is placing "enormous pressure" on the NHS, with under-resourced maternity services stretched to the limit.
Cathy Warwick, RCM chief executive, said: "The baby boom is restarting with renewed vigour.
"We are already at birth numbers that haven't been seen for at least a couple of generations, probably not in the working life of any midwife practising today.
"Today's midwives simply have never seen anything like it. The demand this is placing on the NHS is enormous."
The latest figures from the Government's Office for National Statistics suggest that much of the rise is due to immigration, with 24 per cent of births in 2011 to women born overseas, up from 22 per cent in 2007.
An ONS spokesman said the organisation was not able to comment on the RCM's projected figures for this year.
But speaking about the trend over the past five years, he said: "It's documented in our birth and migration data that a significant component of the increase in birth rate is to do with higher fertility among migrant women.
May be getting rid of the berthing unit at Dover was a bit premature
