More funding for maternity services is needed if women are to get choice over place of birth

An NHS guarantee to give women in England a full range of choices relating to birthing, including home births and ongoing care from a midwife they know and trust, has prompted calls for urgent provision of the necessary staff and resources.

The NHS's new maternity strategy, published last week, promises that by the end of 2009 women will be able to choose the type of antenatal care they would like, whether midwifery care alone or care that is led by doctors as well as midwives. They will also be able to choose between giving birth at home, in a midwifery unit, or in hospital with midwives and doctors, depending on their medical …