A mother who gave birth at the closure-threatened Harwich birthing unit has urged hospital bosses to keep the facility open.

Colchester Hospital University Foundation NHS Trust (CHUFT) is proposing to stop allowing births at the Fryatt Hospital, with the maternity unit instead only providing ante- and post-natal care, due to the high cost per birth at the site.

It says birth numbers have fallen to unsustainable levels, despite efforts to encourage more people to use the facility. Only low-risk mothers can use the midwife-led unit, which is open from 9am-5pm weekdays and then on an on-call basis at other times.

But Tracey Woolnough, from Manningtree, has spoken out against the plans which were unveiled by the trust last week and said that was not her experience.

Mrs Woolnough, 32, gave birth to her first child Scarlett – weighing 7lbs – at the Harwich unit on January 27.

She said: “I live in-between Harwich and Colchester, and when I was pregnant I had appointments at both.

“I was always really pleased with how the appointments went at Harwich, including hypnobirthing practice, and the quality of the midwives, their approach and the facilities gave me a lot of confidence as a first-time mum.

“I had a few things at Colchester and on two occasions I was told I couldn’t have my baby in Harwich, and again initially when I went into labour and rang for the on-call midwife. Only after I was quite assertive did they say they’d call the midwife to open up the unit.

“I got the feeling they didn’t want me to go there, but I wanted a natural birth with no interventions. It felt to me they had gone out of their way to drive Harwich into the ground as a reason to close it.”

During labour Mrs Woolnough was ketotic, meaning she had low sugar levels, but this was solved by the midwives giving her sugary food and drinks.

She added: “The pushing bit only lasted half an hour, it was every woman’s dream, and I believe that’s because of the facilities and the midwives at Harwich.

“They helped and encouraged me to have a natural birth, which I think is much cheaper than the intervention I would have got at Colchester.

“There is a big failing in encouraging people to go there, and I feel compelled to say something.

“I will be joining a demonstration or signing a petition if there is one. I don’t know if we will have more children, but I feel that choice of where I can have the baby is being taken away.”

As an alternative to Harwich, the hospital trust will encourage mums-to-be to go to the Clacton unit, travel to Colchester, or give birth at home.

A CHUFT spokeswoman said: “We are sorry to hear about the issues Mrs Woolnough describes. We will be in touch with Mrs Woolnough to find out more and discuss her care.

“We are glad Mrs Woolnough had a good experience giving birth 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 midwifery-led unit last year in order 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.”

The trust board will discuss and vote on the proposals on Wednesday at Colchester General Hospital.