The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has named Lesley Page as its new president.

The college, which represents the interests of people working in midwife jobs around the UK, said Professor Page will take up her new role on April 2.

Her appointment follows the departure of outgoing president Liz Stephens.

Professor Page, who calls herself "a midwife`s midwife", has previously worked at Thames Valley University and Queen Charlotte`s Hospital in London.

Her areas of expertise include clinical practice, management and leadership. She said her 30-year career had given her an understanding of the support and nurturing that midwives need.

She added: "I have also been a supervisor of midwives and expert witness, so I can understand and empathise with the most difficult situations that midwives may face on the frontline when things go wrong."

Commenting on the issues currently facing midwives, Professor Page said: "There is not always a genuine choice of place of birth for mothers wanting home birth; or for midwives a choice of where to practice, such as in MLUs or caseload practice.

"This is not good for midwives, and is certainly not good for women, babies and their families. But, there are also tremendous opportunities for midwives to work to meet these challenges."

Copyright Press Association 2012

Midwives have welcomed moves to allow women to choose to give birth by caesarean section on the NHS even if there is no medical need to carry out the operation.

A draft report by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) states healthy women can now choose to undergo the procedure, as caesarean sections are safer than before.

Until now, caesarean sections were usually only taken up by women who for medical reasons could not give birth naturally. While some doctors have carried out the operation when it was not medically required, in line with the patient`s wishes, this is not the norm.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has embraced the paper for opening up discussions of the options available to women.

The ratio of natural births to caesarean sections handled by nurses in midwives` jobs could be dramatically altered by the move.

Cathy Warwick, general secretary of the RCM, said: "We are pleased to see the focus on a good discussion of the evidence that includes the risks of caesarean section and the implication for future pregnancies, and we are confident that when women are fully aware of the evidence they will not be asking for inappropriate caesarean sections."

The report is due to be published next month.

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The head of a new drive to enlist more midwives in Wales has called for people from more diverse communities to join.

Professor Sheila Hunt, head of Cardiff University`s school of midwifery, will launch the new drive called Nursing Careers for All in September.

She is calling for more women from economically deprived areas to apply for midwife jobs in a bid to "mirror the local population".

Prof Hunt stressed the aim of the drive was not to specifically target would-be midwives from ethic minorities, as it will also be trying to boost access to higher education in deprived areas.

She said: "Students from diverse communities are currently in the minority. This is often because they have not made the right choices at GCSE level or they think midwifery is not open to them."

Prof Hunt also claimed some women ignore midwifery as a career option because they are "misinformed on such issues as the wearing of veils".

There are currently 1,560 midwives in Wales and, according to the latest statistics from the Welsh Government, 72.2% of them are white.

Statistics show that only 0.2% are Asian or Asian British and 0.4% are mixed race, black or black British.

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The Royal College of Midwives has called for an additional 4,700 midwife jobs to cope with increasing birthrates.

Official figures have revealed a 2.4% increase in England`s birthrate - the highest figure for almost 40 years.

However, the RCM said that since 2001 the shortage in midwives has increased from 2,800 to 4,700 - with a trend for more complex births adding to the demand for midwife services.

Cathy Warwick, general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, said: "The Government has committed to protecting student midwife training places, but this is only for one year and does little good if there are not jobs for those midwives to go to.

"The issue of midwife numbers needs to be on the agenda with this Government and these figures show that it needs to be right at the top of that agenda. Without central direction it is simply too easy for hard-pressed NHS organisations to save money by cutting midwifery jobs. This is a false economy and Government backing is needed to ensure this does not "

Copyright ⌐ Press Association 2011