Obstetrician-led maternity care should be available at King's College hospital, Princess Royal University hospital, Queen Elizabeth hospital and St Thomas', with each of those hospitals, and Lewisham hospital, also having a midwife-led birthing unit.
The birthing unit had been closed because of quality-of-care concerns, the bathrooms could not accommodate wheelchairs, and recruiting efforts often died as soon as, say, a nurse from out of town saw the drab efficiency apartments set aside for the staff.
There is no confirmed date for the birthing unit to reopen.
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has said it is "very concerned" about the closure of a birthing unit at a Berkshire hospital.
"We are also ensuring that every birthing unit has trained specialist mental health staff available to support pregnant women and new mums by 2017".
BBC Radio Berkshire spoke to a hospital worker at Heatherwood Hospital's birthing unit, the head of NHS Berkshire West PCT, the MP for Windsor and a Bracknell GP to find out their views.
When her contractions started, Elizabeth was admitted to the birthing unit of our local hospital.
I took the escalator to the lower area of the hospital, rounded a corner and headed straight for the birthing unit.
Healthcare in the area has changed a lot since then, and much of that change has been helped along by Dolly, who has donated so much time and money to the local hospital that they've named two departments in her honor: the Dolly Parton Birthing Unit and the Dolly Parton Center for Women's Services.
"…the Government of Nepal…have established the…birthing unit…and wherever they have established those birthing units…whenever women go to the ANC and the labour and after delivery… if they survive … they get thousand rupees…if [they deliver in the elevated flatlands and hills region]" (Hospital U, P10).
For vaginal birth within 12 hours of Birthing Unit admission/transfer, IP was superior (53% vs. 28% OPC, p = .01), and need for oxytocin was greater in the OPC group.
