Staffing in Maternity Units, the latest report from the King’s Fund (2011), puts in writing what many managers of maternity services have long suspected, that the increasing demand for more midwives and consultant obstetricians is unattainable and unaffordable. The maternity services budget must contribute to the savings expected from the NHS, leaving maternity at a crossroads between crisis and opportunity, depending which way you look at it. It is estimated that in the next 15 years, 50% of midwives will be eligible to retire (King’s Fund, 2011). Fifteen years is not a long time in terms of strategic forward planning for a maternity service that is likely to need to deliver increasingly complex care unless some drastic action on promoting normality is taken. Already the rising birth rate, obesity, increased medical complexity, increasing maternal age, and the rising caesarean section rate are making staffing maternity services difficult and costly. Yet despite calls for increased staffing due to safety concerns, the latest report from the Centre for Maternal and Chile Enquiries (CMACE) (2011) indicates that