LAST November an estimated 10,000 people marched through Bristol to protest against the cuts to public sector pensions. Although many supported the strikers, some were strongly opposed.

Amongst the most damning critics were the parents of children whose schools had been closed because of the strikes. More than 150 schools were shut in and around the Bristol area, forcing parents to find alternative childcare or take the day off work.

Although inconvenient, perhaps disgruntled parents should take a minute to consider what the public sector does for them. This isn't just about teachers. Every child born on the NHS is dependant, in one way or another, on midwives.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is opposed to the government cuts. The general secretary of the RCM, Cathy Warwick, warns that the cuts "will mean fewer midwives working in the NHS, putting greater pressure on existing staff and [that] could put more pressure on a maternity service that is already buckling under the weight of the demands on it."

Compared with many countries the UK is still a relatively safe place to give birth. However, as a developed western economy we should be achieving more. As many women in the UK die in pregnancy and childbirth today as they did 20 years ago.

The UK stillbirth rate is amongst the highest in Europe. Every year 4,000 babies die unnecessarily in the last few months of pregnancy or during labour. Poor NHS maternity care is thought to contribute to more than 600 deaths a year.

During his election campaign David Cameron promised an extra 3,000 midwives. Now in power he appears to have changed his mind. From 2012 there are no plans to safeguard the number of midwives in training or the number of jobs.

This is especially worrying when there is already an estimated shortfall of around 4,700 midwives in the UK and the national birth-rate is at a 40-year high. From 2001 to 2010, in the South West there was a 23% increase in the number of births and the RCM says 271 more midwives are urgently needed in the area. These cuts to pay and pensions will make it even harder to attract new recruits.

Despite this need NHS budgets have remained static or even fallen. Cathy Warwick has "great fears for the future. If maternity services are struggling now, how will they cope when there is less money?"

A very good question! As the government plans to slash £20bn from the NHS budget by 2015, Mr Cameron is promising that this will not affect patient care. How can this be possible? We may be living in a time of austerity, but if the measure of a civilisation is how a society looks after the vulnerable, then our government needs to prioritise the needs of expectant mothers and new born babies.