A MUM who was only allowed to give birth in Harwich after challenging Colchester Hospital staff claims hospital bosses are intentionally driving down births at Harwich to justify closing the unit.

Bosses claim there are so few births at the Fryatt Hospital birthing unit in Dovercourt that it is costing £8,000 a time to deliver a baby there, when it only gets £2,000 per birth.

Colchester Hospital trust boss Nick Hulme said it meant there was a “significant financial loss”.

Under new proposals, pregnant women will no longer be able to give birth at Harwich’s Hospital from next April.

From October 1, mums-to-be will be told they can give birth at home or travel 19 miles to Clacton or Colchester.

Tracey Woolnough, of Lawford, gave birth to her daughter Scarlett at Harwich’s birthing unit in January. She blamed hospital bosses for the lack of women using the service in the town.

“The overnight maternity reception in Colchester informed me I could not go to Harwich,” she said.

“Only when challenged did she agree to call the on-call midwife.

“This was the third occasion when Colchester Hospital staff tried to stop me having my baby at Harwich.

“So rather than promoting the fantastic service, they have been trying to sabotage this centre, to justify closure.”

Mrs Woolnough praised staff at Harwich’s birthing unit and called on hospital bosses to keep the unit open.

“My straightforward and quick labour was thanks to the preparation before and during labour by Harwich midwives,” she added.

“I think we need to focus on better birthing strategies rather than short-term financial gains by closing Harwich.

“Colchester should do more to support Harwich, rather than intentionally driving birth volumes down, so they can justify this closure.”

The trust denied it was intentionally driving down the number of births at Harwich to justify closing the unit.

A spokesman said: “We are sorry to hear about the issues Mrs Woolnough describes. We are glad Mrs Woolnough had a straightforward and quick delivery at Harwich.

“The trust has been encouraging women expecting uncomplicated births to have their babies in Harwich. For example, we held an open day at the Harwich maternity-led unit last year to raise awareness of the care it provides.

“However, unfortunately the number of women choosing to give birth in Harwich continues to dwindle year on year.

“Our trust encourages patients to have natural births with as few medical interventions as possible.

“We also work closely with mums-to-be to provide them with as much information and choice as possible on how they give birth.”

The Standard questioned the trust over whether there would be a public consultation into the planned changes.

It said the matter would be discussed at a public board meeting at Colchester’s Postgraduate Medical Centre on Wednesday at 1pm.