Ōpōtiki birthing centre closed at short notice Photo: RNZ / YouTube
Birthing suites at Auckland's Birthcare in Parnell will be closed at the end of the month.
As the due date for the closure of the birthing units at Auckland's Birthcare facility looms, are women in the middle of our biggest city being short-changed on their birth options?
Evolution Healthcare, which owns the Parnell-based centre announced the three birthing suites would shut on December 31 - leaving it focused on post-natal care.
It cited consistently low bookings, and said women in metro Auckland had "a range of primary birthing options".
Many midwives disagree - saying they're too far away and that hospitalisation often brings a greater chance of birth interventions.
Kathryn speaks with Jasmine Russek, a midwife who's worked at Birthcare and the head of the New Zealand College of Midwives, Alison Eddy.
