Gloucestershire NHS Trust have spent the last 6 months waiting for this document to be produced but reads more like a high-level slide deck of assumptions than a serious evidence base for major maternity transformation.

Join our panel discussion to create a formal critique and proper case to be made.

Bethany was effected by the homebirth service suspension - after a traumatic birth in hospital, and a lovely homebirth - she knew where she wanted to be and chose to birth in her pool with Doulas Emma & Kit.

We’ve heard reports that mothers have been forced to sign formula feeding agreements to be allowed to tale their babies home - one at 2 days old!

We would like to know if this is routine practice at GRH & support mothers to access breastfeeding support if that is their feeding preference.

Cllr Laura Hall-Wilson of South Cotwolds writes in support of maternity choices.

This Freedom of Information request asked Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for records relating to A-EQUIP and Professional Midwifery Advocate involvement in the decision to suspend the home birth service.

The Trust’s response stated that no relevant records were held.

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has stated that alternatives to suspending the home birth service were considered.

We want to see whether options such as independent midwifery support, mutual aid from neighbouring NHS Trusts, increased on-call cover, a dedicated home birth team, or maintaining support for women already booked for home birth were properly explored, risk assessed and costed before the service was suspended.

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has referred to consultation and engagement with a wide range of organisations and internal committees in relation to the suspension of the home birth service.

We want to understand whether stakeholders were meaningfully asked for advice, concerns, alternatives, and scrutiny before decisions were made — or whether they were simply informed after the direction of travel had already been decided.

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s complaint response refers to a Confidential Trust Board meeting on 10 February 2026, where key papers appear to have been considered about the suspension of the home birth service, the options appraisal, and plans for restoration.

On 1 December a complaint was raised with Gloucestershire NHS Trust regarding the homebirth suspension. Here' is the original complaint, their response and our assessment.

We have run an analysis on the number of births happening in. community settings since Jan 2022 and found it is falling dramatically.

GMAG has submitted this FOI request because we are being told one thing publicly and another by staff on the ground. At the ICB meeting, we were told there was no “new” postnatal pathway, yet staff report internal communications referring to a new pathway. This request seeks clarity on when the current pathway was introduced, what documents define it, and what staff have been told internally.

GMAG has submitted a Freedom of Information request asking what evidence, figures and safety models Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has used when developing its current proposal for reinstating home birth services. Continuity of midwifery care is one of the strongest evidence-based models for improving women’s experiences and reducing intervention, so the public has a right to know why this has not been prioritised.

Many of the early FOI requests, news updates and background articles relating to Gloucestershire’s home birth suspension and wider community maternity changes were first recorded on Emma’s Antenatal advocacy pages between November 2025 and May 2026. With thanks to Stroud Motherhood Collective and our first GMAG members, this new site will now become the central place for updates, actions and ways to get involved.