Cheltenham’s Birth Centre is set to reopen in February 2027, almost five years after it closed for safety reasons in April 2022. Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has also confirmed dates for the return of home births across the county.
When things restart
- Home births return on 4 January 2027, after a suspension that began in November 2025.
- Cheltenham Birth Centre, at Cheltenham General Hospital, reopens on 1 February 2027.
- From January, a new countywide Community Birth Team begins providing labour and birth care at Stroud Maternity Unit.
A new way of delivering care
The Community Birth Team will run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Its midwives will cover the home birth service, Stroud Maternity Unit and, once it reopens, the Birth Centre in Cheltenham. The trust says the services are being brought back in stages so that each one is safe and sustainable before the next starts.
Before each phase begins, the trust will confirm that enough staff are in place, and that clinical governance, operations and buildings are ready.
What local MP and councillors say
Cheltenham MP Max Wilkinson, who campaigned for the unit’s return for four years, welcomed the news. County councillor Paul Hodgkinson, who holds the public health brief, said councillors will keep checking the service and hold the NHS to account on safety.
Practical information
Women who choose to give birth at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital will see no change. The trust has said it recognises that families will be disappointed the Birth Centre reopens later than home births, and that the wait has been long. Anyone planning a birth in the coming months should speak to their midwife or GP about the options available at each date.
