Home births and Cheltenham Birth Centre to reopen
Women and families across Gloucestershire will have greater choice about where they give birth as the Trust confirms dates for the return of home births and reopening of Cheltenham Birth Centre.
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A new Community Birth Team will provide labour and birth care at Stroud Maternity alongside home births, and at Cheltenham Birth Centre once it reopens.
The dedicated team will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing a countywide model for community births designed to be more resilient, reliable and sustainable.
The services are being introduced in phases to allow the new arrangements to become established safely. Before each phase begins, the Trust will confirm that staffing and other arrangements are in place to support safe, high-quality care.
Summary
- 4 January 2027: Home birth services will restart across Gloucestershire, supported by a new countywide Community Birth Team
- 1 February 2027: Cheltenham Birth Centre will reopen, restoring another birth choice for women and families
- From December 2026, women will be able to discuss plans for a home birth on or after 4 January with their midwife, where appropriate
- Women will continue to be able to choose Stroud Maternity as their place of birth before the opening, but from 4 January, this will be provided by the new Community Birth Team
Background
Home births were suspended in October 2025 following concerns about the safety and sustainability of previous on-call arrangements, while Cheltenham Birth Centre has remained closed since 2022 because it could not be staffed safely and consistently.
The Trust had previously committed to restoring the services by the end of autumn 2026 and recognises that the confirmed dates are later than planned. The additional time will allow the practical preparations for the new countywide model to be completed.
For women choosing (or recommended) to give birth on our Delivery Suite or Gloucestershire Birth Unit at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, services are unchanged.
A new Community Birth Team
The new Community Birth Team will provide labour and birth care across Gloucestershire, supporting women choosing to give birth at home or in a community midwifery unit.
The dedicated team will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, working flexibly across community birth settings to provide a more resilient, reliable and sustainable service.
It will support women choosing to give birth:
- at home
- at Stroud Maternity
- at Cheltenham Birth Centre
Care will be planned with each woman and family according to their preferences, clinical needs and preferred place of birth wherever this is clinically appropriate and can be provided safely.
For women choosing, or recommended, to give birth on our Delivery Suite or Gloucestershire Birth Unit at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital remain unchanged.
This new team is distinct from Community Midwives:
Community Midwifery Care
All women and birthing people are assigned to a designated team of community midwives to oversee their care during pregnancy and provide regular appointments within the community.
Women considering a community birth can discuss their preferred birth setting with their midwife. Care will continue to be planned with each woman, taking account of her individual preferences and clinical needs, with the Community Birth Team providing labour and birth care across community birth settings.
- Community maternity services will continue to be provided from existing community settings, including Stroud.
"The Community Birth Team will support women choosing to give birth at home, at Stroud or at Cheltenham. This is a significant and positive step in restoring birth choices across Gloucestershire and providing a more sustainable service for the future."
Matt Holdaway, Chief Nurse
Matt Holdaway, Chief Nurse said:
"We know how important choice about where to give birth is to women and families, so I am pleased that home births are being restored from 4 January 2027 and our Cheltenham Birth Centre will reopen from 1 February 2027.
"We recognise that women and families have had to wait longer than originally planned, and I am sorry for the impact that has had.
"Recruitment and onboarding are progressing, alongside the training, staffing and operational preparations needed for each phase.
"We will only move to the next phase when we are confident that women, babies and families can receive safe, high-quality care, supported by the right staff, training, facilities and governance arrangements.”