Maternity services set for more change as the NHS hits 70

Hospital births were once seen as the ideal in maternity services – now, women’s choice is driving policy

July is set to be a month of celebrations. Not only will it be the NHS’s birthday that month, but it will be the 40th birthday of Louise Brown, probably better known as the world’s first “test-tube baby”.

Louise’s arrival, by caesarian section shortly before midnight on 25 July 1978 at the Royal Oldham hospital, made headlines around the world, marking as it did the birth of the first human to be conceived using in-vitro fertilisation.

Related: Nine advances in medical science that help the NHS save lives

Related: 'It's revolutionary': staff and patients on 70 years of the NHS

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from Children | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2IWXqGj